Promoting science, technology, engineering, math

VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Southwest Washington Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program held its fifth annual Summer Science and Engineering Program July 9-13 at Washington State University Vancouver.
 
The MESA Summer Science and Engineering program draws sixth – ninth grade students into hands-on, real-world activities that create meaningful connections between academic content and practical application. In addition to offering classes in biology and mechanical and manufacturing engineering, this year Southwest Washington MESA is featuring NanoDays, which is a part of a nationwide festival of educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering.
 
Students in the program get exposure to a higher-education environment while working with instructors and mentors from the professional community and using cutting-edge equipment. Participating students say that they enjoy the MESA Summer Science and Engineering program because the experiments are fun and hands-on.
 

Three focus areas included:

Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering: Cougar Factory
Run a factory to design something useful and manufacture it to sell. Use computer aided design (CAD), rapid prototyping (RP), and manufacturing/assembly processes. Design your own products and make them out of metals or plastics. Take home your very own working products!
 
Nano Days: Explore the World of Nanotechnology
Explore a fun-filled and hands-on class focused on creating awareness in the field of Nanotechnology. Learn how nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nanoengineering lead to new knowledge and innovations that weren’t possible before! Explore fabrication, materials, products and more!
 
Biology: What’s Really Going on Around us?
Learn about the systems that are cycling around us every single day. Explore the soil, water, plants, and animals while learning the techniques that scientists use in the field and in the lab. Investigate the structure of the ground below us, the quality of the water around us, the functions of the plants we need to breathe, and even learn to track animals!
 
Founded in 2004, Southwest Washington MESA is an academic-enrichment program that provides educational opportunities that helps build a pathway to college and careers in the science, technology, engineering and math. MESA’s goal is to reach students who are currently underrepresented in the STEM fields—African American, Latino, Native American and girls. Southwest Washington MESA is housed at WSU Vancouver.