STEM Camp – Seidenberg School News

Pace University concludes sixth successful year of STEM Camp

The sixth annual STEM Collaboratory NYC’s STEM Camp at Pace has concluded after two weeks of intensive summer tech-related fun. Hosted and run at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, the camp introduced participants to tailored coding programs, field trips to top tech companies, and much more.

From Monday, July 2 through Friday, July 13, 2018, high school students from the tri-state area descended upon the Seidenberg School to learn how to code Python, data science, data visualization, design thinking – to name just a few. Workshops run by Seidenberg faculty Christelle Scharff and Frank Parisi offered an in depth exploration of hot tech areas, while Seidenberg student mentors led NYC Design Factory soft skills development events.

Getting to know you, getting to learn all about you… one of our icebreaker exercises that totally worked the way we meant it to and didn’t end up with twine everywhere.

Students weren’t restricted to the four walls of One Pace Plaza, however – several organized field trips included visits to Google for a tour and panel discussion, as well as a trip to local startup AppFigures. As is STEM Camp tradition, the cohort also enjoyed a boat ride to Governor’s Island to visit Billion Oyster Project (during an intense summer heatwave, so ice cream may have been involved).

Science takes safety seriously! STEM Camp visited Governor’s Island to work with Billion Oyster Project.

The Seidenberg School runs STEM Camp in partnership with the School of Education via a grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As part of our initiative to bring technology education to the high school classroom as well as our established college experience, STEM Camp was created to bring gifted high school students to Pace University for an unforgettable summer experience that encourages participants to pursue STEM degrees.

The camp closed out with project presentations from the students, which we streamed live on Facebook.

We’d like to thank Dr. Lauren Birney from the School of Ed, Dean Jonathan Hill, and our amazing team at Seidenberg who made STEM Camp possible: professors Christelle Scharff and Frank Parisi, students Vivian Ng, Allan Krasner, Sven Nussgruber, Jackson Bynes, Guillermo Schneider, Aditee Verma, Anna Marinina, Milind Ikke, and Seidenberg staff lead, Melanie Madera.

Student mentors Sven Nussgruber, Jackson Bynes, Allan Krasner, Guillermo Schneider, Anna Marinina, and Aditee Verma, making it happen! Not pictured: Vivian Ng.

Stay tuned for a video highlighting the best moments from this year’s camp!

Read about previous STEM camps.

Fifth STEM Camp kicks off at Pace University’s Seidenberg School

On Friday, July 7th, 2017, the 5th annual STEM Collaboratory NYC’s STEM Camp kicked off as a cohort of bright and ambitious high school students walked through the Seidenberg School’s doors.

The 26 students, who were carefully selected from 109 applications, will spend the next two weeks with us for an intensive summer experience that will include delving into programming with python, understanding data science, using design thinking approaches for projects, and having massive amounts of fun!

On Day 1, the day began with a brief intro to camp and the Seidenberg School. Program manager Olga Bogomolova got everyone acquainted with an opening presentation and the infamous name game, where everybody cements one another’s names in their heads through a creative repetition game. It works!

Dr. Lauren Birney welcomes our STEM Campers for 2017!

Dr. Lauren Birney of Pace University’s School of Education (a partner in STEM Camp!) greeted the students. “You are the cream that rises to the top,” she told them, adding that they should be proud they were selected for the program. Dr. Birney added that the program would be challenging, however “every challenge we get is another opportunity to get further in our careers.”

Students spent the afternoon getting an introduction to python programming language with Dr. Christelle Scharff, chair of the computer science department.

STEM camp is organized and managed by Olga Bogomolova and offers Seidenberg and fellow Pace students the opportunity to mentor campers individually and in groups. The following two weeks will include more coding, project-based learning, a trip to the Billion Oyster Project on Governor’s Island to learn data analytics, museum visits, and more. Stay tuned to hear all about it and check out Seidenberg social media for pics!

NSF Billion Oyster Project video features Pace!

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a cool new video featuring the Billion Oyster Project (BOP) and Pace University! The Billion Oyster Project is a community of students, teachers, scientists, volunteers, businesses, and schools. Its goal? Getting down and dirty to conduct research and restore the New York Harbor back to its oyster-inhabited glory. With a $5 million grant from the NSF, the project leaders hope to inspire students, specifically middle school students, to help drive the restoration.

At Pace University, the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS) and BOP Fellowship trains teachers and educators how to engage students in environmental science and restoration ecology. In 2016, our annual STEM Collaboratory camp teamed up with BOP for an exciting two weeks of research, problem solving, and design thinking. We taught campers HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Google Charts to create a helpful solution.

The NSF video features our very own professor Lauren Birney, the director of Pace University’s STEM Collaboratory. “We’re creating this smart and connected community here in New York City, but then allowing that to grow into other communities,” Birney said. She hopes to build the Billion Oyster Project by continuing to target local middle schools in low-income neighborhoods where students are underrepresented in STEM fields.

Participants aren’t just making new friends, they’re also engaging in STEM activities while restoring the ecosystem in their own backyard! Hands on work teaches students how to measure oysters, test water samples, and other cool activities that keep them active and constantly contributing. The Billion Oyster Project’s website keeps track of teachers, students and volunteers’ work with an interactive map.

Learn more about the 2016 STEM Collaboratory NYC experience, or go further back and check out our Summer Scholars program’s awesome experience with the Billion Oyster Project in 2015!

Pace University’s STEM Collaboratory Camp 2014

Last month twenty high school students from across the five boroughs embarked on a summer STEM adventure as part of Pace University’s STEM Collaboratory Camp, a collaboration of Pace and AT&T. For two weeks they learned and experimented with coding, robotics, Cybersecurity, Design Thinking and scientific research processes, among other skills. Then, they began to put their skills to work.

On August 1^st, 2014 the camp culminated with students formally presenting their very own Cybersecurity mobile apps.

Special guests included Elizabeth Segal from AT&T, Kelli Kedis Ogborn from DARPA Legislative Affairs – Spire Communications, and Brook Gesser from U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s Office.

Members of the media were invited to attend the graduation reception.

To view the work done by each team, simply click on the links below.

Team Cybot comprising of Jacob Sadeh, Lary Toyter, Maryia Spirydonava, and Mariah Torcivia presented their app, Cyber Triv — an app that raises awareness about Cybersecurity.

Team FoCS (aka FOX), comprising of Nicholas Austin, Sole Stewart, Loreen Chan, and Christopher Boyce, created WE-FE — an app that allows you to monitor who’s on your Wi-Fi and take appropriate action.

Team Rocket, comprising of Kemar Dudley, David Lebron, Summer Carrio, and Dishan Win, created the app Secure-IT — an app that shows you just how secure you are online.

Team Phisher comprising of Iya Hawkins, Anthony Agbofoati, Anastasiya Malinouskaya, Jeremy End invented Phisher — an app that allows you find all your old posts … and have a good long think!

–For more pictures and videos from STEM Camp, follow us on Facebook.

Suhail Bhandari

Two STEM Camp Participants Talk About Their Experience

With this week being the third leg of 2013’s STEM Camp, we decided to ask a few students to share their thoughts about the experience so far. Below, we have answers from Jad Seligman and Deaja Clarke, both of whom are rising juniors in high schools around NYC.

Jad Seligman (left) shows off a drawing.

What brought you to STEM camp?

Jad: I was interested in STEM camp because I have a love for programming but I also really enjoy math and science as well.
Deaja: My Aunt told me about the camp and she said that it was about science and technology, which interested me. I was also interested in how technology was incorporated into science.

Deaja Clarke prepares to extract DNA from a banana.

What are some things you have learned from your time at STEM camp?

Jad: Since being at STEM camp, I have learned how to make a mobile app and how to make a website. I have also learned more about object-oriented programming.
Deaja: I have learned about the basics of coding, which I never knew before.

What has been your favorite part of STEM camp?

Jad: My favorite part of camp so far has been the people- the students and the mentors. The students are very smart and they exude intelligence and good spirit. The mentors are incredibly helpful as well.
Deaja: I like the people and the overall experience.

Would you consider pursuing a major in the STEM field during college?

Jad: Absolutely! Ideally, I would like to major in computer science.
Deaja: I am interested mostly in science, but I plan to study a little bit of technology too and incorporate it into science.

What do you want to do in the future?

Jad: I would like to have a career in cyber security.

Deaja: I want to be a doctor who incorporates technology into the medical field. I know I want to help people and using technology is very beneficial for doctors.

From their responses, it seems that the camp has been right down their ally; Jad and Deaja, as well as the other campers who share their enthusiasm, will indubitably walk away from this experience with a new foundation of knowledge to build upon in their higher education.

Summer STEM Camp 2013

What has Seidenberg HQ been up to lately?

We have been busy with STEM! A distinguished group of 20 talented New York high school students have been invited to participate in a 3 week long STEM camp experience. Much like what we did with this year’s Summer Scholars Experience, this educational camp aims to raise awareness about the importance of STEM in addition to exposing the students to the many opportunities that STEM has to offer. As the camp kicked off, our bright participants were placed in teams of 4 and asked to come up with a concept for a STEM related mobile app and website.

A Day in the Life of a STEM Camp Participant

Each day the camp is filled with excitement and adventure. Students not only learn about coding and Photoshop but they are exposed to a wealth of knowledge from experienced guest speakers and dedicated mentors, including Pavel Kibrik, who talked about the importance of sleep, and Pace professor Samuel Baruch, who discussed his experiences at Columbia where he earned his degree in Math. Our bright campers also get a cultural thrill when visiting different top tech companies, startups, and tourist attractions around NYC. So far, our campers have attended the UNIFCEF CUNY design challenge where they had the chance to learn how students are using STEM to improve the quality of life of the less fortunate. Our campers also visited the NY Hall of Science and the Highline Park. Our bright STEM participants visited Codeacademy, Eye Beam, and Alley Tech NYC to see how awesome it is to work at startups.

What’s in Store?

With one more week to go, the campers have to finish their STEM mobile apps and their accompanying websites. Each group will then present their work to an esteemed panel of judges. We are excited to see the success of our talented STEM campers!