Newman University is currently hosting its Investigative Summer Science Program (ISSP) for 25 sophomore through senior high school students from Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. The program offers an opportunity for faculty, staff and counselors to help open the minds of students looking to explore a future in science.
Interested participants apply via mail by filling out an official application accompanied by a 200-word essay explaining why they are a good fit for the summer program.
During their time on campus, ISSP students perform research, work in the laboratory, gather data, go on field trips, and much more. Off-campus field trips include visiting and touring Koch Industries, Textron Aviation and Wichita Family Dental.
Camp participant, Feeana Ahmed, says of the program, “It gives us the college experience. I would describe this camp as hands on.”
The objectives of the camp are:
- To make science a fun and exciting opportunity through an investigative laboratory approach.
- To broaden students’ scientific interests and inform them of opportunities and challenges in science and medicine.
- To strengthen pre-college science education and address the needs of students during the critical years when concepts and attitudes are developed.
- To foster independent scholarship, originality and competence in physical, biological and health sciences.
- To rebuild our human resource for basic sciences and provide a basis for future technological exploration in science and medicine.
- To increase the number of high school science teachers by motivating participants to learn more about science through hands-on discovery.
Brittany Farmer, from Douglas, Kan. says of the camp, “The program is really good for kids in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program, it’s very helpful.”
Another participant, Mac Foley from Wichita, says, “I really like this camp because it is really investigative.”
The two-week long camp also offers time for social activities in the evening such as dodgeball, university campus tours, flag football and even taking in a Wichita Wingnuts game.
The program has been offered by Newman for 27 years and continues to grow in popularity. The students’ hard work accumulating research and data during their two weeks in the program result in a presentation they can deliver to faculty and fellow students.
