With the aim of inspiring young minds to explore careers in STEM fields, Bowling Green State University is luring 9 to 12-year-olds to its campus for a hands-on introduction to science through Kids’ Tech University, a semester-long program that exposes young students to real scientists and their work.
“We want to put the kids in front of a practicing scientist to foster and maintain their excitement in science and make them start to think about this as a possible future for them,” says Paul Morris, an associate professor in biological science at BGSU and a coordinator for Kids’ Tech.
The program originated at Virginia Tech University in 2009 and is based on a program started in Germany in 2002 by two journalists who saw the value in young children exploring questions of “why” in science.
As part of the German model, kids as young as eight can attend interactive classes in a university setting, led by professors. Studies showed that afterward, the students had a more thorough awareness of the session topics compared with students who had not enrolled in the program.
“For many kids, this is the first opportunity they’ve ever had to be on a university campus, so there’s a bit of excitement associated with the venue,” says Morris. “We want to target this age group before they become jaded and lose their interest in science.”
Kids’ Tech is open to students 9-12 who live within an hour of Bowling Green. They will attend a lecture program in the morning, followed by lunch and an interactive period in the afternoon. The session includes four Saturday classes that run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 21, Feb. 11, March 31 and April 28 and cover topics such as patterns in nature, proteins and their function, fossils and horticulture. The $25 registration fee includes lunch and a free Kids’ Tech t-shirt. Scholarships for the program are available.
Kids’ Tech is funded through 4-H and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and also offers teacher development programs. “Patterns in Nature: Math Concepts Explained,” will be offered Jan. 21 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and an additional teacher development program will be offered in April. For more information and to register for any part of Kids’ Tech, visit their
website.