This summer, UNF has given students from 3rd grade all the way up to 12th grade the opportunity of a lifetime: the opportunity to participate in an authentic and hands-on STEM research project.

The four-week long camp started off with a week of elementary school students learning how to construct organic gardens. Students also learned how to use drone technology to find out the optimal area to start a garden, based off of the heat index hot spots of the area.

The next week consisted of middle school students building oxygen sensors and sonar equipment as a way of “hacking water resources.”

Currently, the camp consists of high school students who are learning how to build a 3D printed prosthetic limb. The end goal of this camp is to complete a prosthetic leg for a recent amputee.

“What’s super cool about this is that real prosthetics cost between $3,000-5,000, but you can print one for under $100,” said Dr. Betina Malhotra, the assistant director of curriculum for NEF STEM and UNF’s STEP lab and leader of the camp.

This is the first year the camp has been offered. While the kids do have to supply their own lunches, the cost of admission to the camp is completely free.

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