A taste of technology

Voorheesville eighth grader Sawyer Cresap was treated to a week of hands-on, high-tech learning this summer. She was one of 48 middle school students from throughout the Capital Region who took part in the fourth annual Summer Tech Camp sponsored by the Capital Region BOCES and Questar III BOCES.

Two Voorheesville middle school science teachers, John Curran and Jessica Bradshaw, also were members of the regional committee that planned the event, and they served as camp counselors.

The campers came together at different locations during the week of August 6-10, to work side-by-side with professionals from GE, SUNY, RPI, and various other private companies to learn about emerging technologies and career opportunities in the booming Capital Region technology industry. 

Throughout the week, the students engaged in many hands-on activities that included designing a clean room for a school building, collecting and analyzing forensic evidence from a crime scene, exploring the use of LEGO robotics to tackle real-world problems, and learning about the different stages of video game development. At the end of the week, they created a time capsule of technological items and made a presentation before their parents, teachers, and local business professionals, which was videotaped by WMHT.

The students who participated in this program were nominated by their teachers and selected by a random lottery system. Congratulations to Sawyer Cresap for taking full advantage of this opportunity. 

In photo above, Sawyer Cresap (standing) and another middle school student from the Capital Region play a video game aptitude test program at Vicarious Visions. The Menands-based game developer, one of the participating companies in the Summer Tech Camp, gathers data to better understand how gamers of different ages and abilities play games.