UrbanAgTech Camps at Mezzacello In July
During summer 2021, Mezzacello played host to a series of summer camps hosted jointly by Mezzacello, The PAST Foundation, and the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation. The camps were designed to promote career exploration and applied STEM in middle school kids AND explore the future of food on Earth, the Moon and on Mars. The camps were called UrbanAgTech Camps at Mezzacello and this one was called UrbanAgTech Camps at Mezzacello in July.
If you calm down, you will work better.
Cecelia
There were two camps this summer, these are photos from the July camp (Click here for the June camp photos and story!) This camp was focused on career options and the STEM of agriculture. I am fairly certain the kids had a good time and that they learned a lot!
Applied STEM With an Emphasis On Applied
The really cool thing about this camp is that the kids learned to apply the STEM lessons they learned. One of the students worked with another to create a map of Mezzacello in Minecraft. Two others collaborated on an isometric map of the gardens using drones and GIS.
I thought I wanted to be a mortician when I grow up, but on Mars, a body is going to be worth more as carbon and compost than as a grave, I guess.
A big part of the goal of these camps was to identify and think about careers that were related to farming without just the obvious planting and harvesting. The pivots and journeys these kids took was delightful and surprising. I had an entire white board in the mobile classroom filled with 51 career opportunities that these kids identified.
The Activities For This Camp
Team Bio
- Sanitation and Health
- Vet Tech
- Ecosystems
- Biomes
- Compost and Manure
- Care and Feeding
- Evaluating Animal Health
- Teaching and Sharing
Team The STEMs
- Robotics and Code
- System Configuration (Raspberry Pi)
- Documentation
- Measurements
- Map Making
- Data Input
- Data Tracking
- Communications
Team Bob The Builder
- Building and Designing Structures
- Coordinating Teams on Projects
- Planning and Modeling
- Training and Support
- Research and Documentation
- Minecraft Maps Support
- Power and Water Configuration
- Building and Maintenance
Summer camps should be fun, challenging and exciting. They should empower children (and adults) to want to change the world for the better. I believe this was a great example of all three.
UrbanAgTech Summer Camp 2021 Was Brought to Life By Mezzacello, Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, and the PAST Foundation.
