Solanco High School, 585 Solanco Road, Quarryville, will hold a STEM summer camp on Monday, July 15, through Thursday, July 18, from 9 to 11 a.m. On each day of the camp, students entering fourth through eighth grades will participate in hands-on activities to learn about various STEM-related topics in the high school's technology education classrooms.

Students who register for the summer camp will have the opportunity to choose one of three STEM-related fields to explore: videography, robotics and game development or manufacturing and design. Each pathway will include interactive projects and educational activities specific to the chosen field, and students will spend the week learning about their preferred subject.

Participants who select videography will learn how to operate advanced video cameras and technology used for freelance recording and studio production. The videography program will also include lessons on modern-day video editing and industry-standard techniques.

The robotics and game development portion of the camp will detail basic computer science topics that will include block coding, and students will be tasked with solving real-life problems by writing their own code. Campers will code in software languages such as C++ and Python and will use other robotics programming resources during the week.

Students who choose the manufacturing and design option will learn about computer-aided manufacturing by designing a customized product that will be crafted with a computer numeric controlled (CNC) machine. Campers will utilize manufacturing software to write code for the machine, which will construct their products based on the young coders' exact specifications.

Previously, Solanco High School hosted a summer camp that focused solely on robotics. The program became increasingly popular among students and attendance grew every year, prompting the camp organizers to expand the topics covered in 2024.

"Study after study is being released about how 80% of jobs in the next five years are going to be in STEM-related fields," said Todd Brown, Solanco High School technology education teacher and organizer of the camp. "We felt (the STEM camp) was an avenue to give students exposure at a younger age so they can start the conversation with their parents and teachers about skills they're interested in."

Students may sign up for the camp for a set fee, which will include a shirt. Registration must be completed before Saturday, June 1. For more information or to register for the STEM camp, email Brown at todd_brown@solancosd.org.