DISCOVER YOUR SUMMER ENCOURAGES
YOUTH TO PURSUE SCIENCE
Project Exploration has released Discover Your Summer 2010, our fourth annual guide to summer science opportunities for middle and high school students. This year’s guide is being distributed to nearly 10,000 students around the Chicagoland area. Nearly 200 summer camps, workshops, and other science programs from across the Midwest and the nation are highlighted in the guide. Discover Your Summer also offers guidance on completing applications and preparing for interviews.
“Discover Your Summer was born when our students told us how difficult it was to find information about summer science programs,” says Executive Director Gabrielle Lyon. “Access to information about high-quality, affordable science opportunities can be one of the biggest and most basic barriers to participation in science by students from historically underrepresented populations. What began as a guide for students in our programs has become a nationally-recognized resource: the online database is used by families, teachers and youth in every state of the country.”
Programs in Discover Your Summer 2010 range from daytime classes at museums to weeklong residential camps at universities. Topics cover the full array of science and mathematics, from aerospace engineering to zoology. Programs which are free or offer paid opportunities are highlighted in a special index.
Discover Your Summer is available for free. The searchable database can be found at www.projectexploration.org/dys, and print copies can be obtained by calling 773-834-3714 or by emailing ljansen@projectexploration.org.
U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, Governor Pat Quinn, and Mayor Richard M. Daley wrote letters of support for the guide, encouraging students to pursue science during the summer. The Motorola Foundation and the Chicago Public Schools Office of Mathematics and Science are sponsors of Discover Your Summer 2010.
About Project Exploration
Project Exploration works to ensure communities traditionally overlooked by science—particularly minority youth and girls—have access to personalized experiences with science and scientists. At the heart of this work are youth programs, which impact the lives of hundreds of students each year by fostering a long-term interest in science. Students in Project Exploration’s expedition programs graduate high school at a 95% rate and are three times more likely to enroll in a four-year college than their peers; over one third major in science once in college. At a time when four out of five jobs require science and technology skills, Project Exploration provides a new model for engaging and retaining today’s youth in science and technology. In recognition of this work, Project Exploration received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in 2009.
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Contact:
Laura Jansen
Project Exploration
Phone: (773) 834-3714
Email: ljansen@projectexploration.org |
