Tuskegee Institute Middle School, June 16-20, 2003

Isaac Newton's three laws of physics were mastered, science was taken to the stars, friendships were formed and elementary and middle school girls from Tuskegee can hardly wait for next summer's TNT Interdisciplinary Summer Science Camp.

The first summer of the science camp, which will be an annual event taking place on a three-year cycle, focused on flight and aviation, rocketry and robotics. This year's camp was held at Tuskegee Institute Middle School, where Dr. Jacqueline Brooks is principal.

"For being the first camp, it was great and everything flowed perfectly," said Dr. Octavia Tripp, a sponsor and assistant professor in Curriculum & Teaching. "The girls have had a wonderful time. In fact, one girl just told me she was sad to leave because she made a lot of friends here and learned so much, and she is looking forward to coming back next year."

After a week of exciting lesson plans taught by 10 College of Education undergraduates, the fifth-, sixth- and seventh-grade girls were ready to perform skits they worked on all week and celebrate the good time had by all during the TNT Award Luncheon on Friday, June 20.

Parents, friends and guests were invited to attend the luncheon and be treated to fun and educational entertainment provided not only by the participants, but also the keynote speaker—former NASA astronaut and retired Navy pilot, Capt. Winston Scott.

Scott, who has been on two flight missions and participated in three space walks during those missions, shared his experiences with the audience by showing a video of his second mission on board the Columbia.

"It's obvious you girls had a good time this week and learned a whole lot," Scott said. "Everything you guys have talked about today and learned over the past week can be seen in this video."

After showing clips of everything from the astronauts eating to breathtaking views of the earth to images a robotic camera took, Scott ended the presentation by taking questions from the audience.

As for the girls, it was clear they were leaving TNT Interdisciplinary Summer Science Camp with a new attitude toward science, new friends and many memories of fun.

"We learned Newton's third law and how to make rockets and robotics. We made rockets that we put an Alka-Seltzer Plus in the bottom of and it made the rocket go up to the ceiling, so we went outside with it and it went real high," said Kayla Williams, who will enter the fifth grade this fall.

When Kayla's teachers—Jennifer Deason and Yolanda Routh—asked the class what Newton's third law was a chorus of voices said, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Classmate Purchera Jones also enjoyed the experiments and activities, but her favorite part of the clinic boiled down to the people.

"My favorite part about the camp was spending time with my teachers and the other girls that were in my class," said 10-year-old Purchera.

The girls' teachers, who are both seniors in Elementary Education, agreed that one of the best parts about the camp was getting to know such a great group of girls.

"The girls are so smart and they remember everything we taught them. They could also apply what they learned to various examples," Deason said. "You could tell everybody was having a great time and really got to know each other too."

"It was also such a great experience to be able to come and teach in an atmosphere that you wouldn't typically get in Auburn," Routh added. "I feel like we learned just as much from these girls as they learned from us."

There were a total of 43 elementary and middle school girls who participated in this inaugural summer science camp, and all involved were pleased with the overall experience. One satisfied parent felt TNT Interdisciplinary Summer Science Camp for Girls achieved its goal of boosting girls' interest in science.

"It really worked. My daughter's very interested in reading, but science was not one of her favorite subjects, and this week I have heard her telling her brother—who loves science—what's she's been learning everyday," said Barbara Gaillard, whose daughter Stefanie is an honor roll student going into the sixth grade.

One of the major lessons this science camp set out to teach was that these talented young ladies could do anything they wanted and to use education as a tool to reach all of their dreams. Words of wisdom spoken by Scott echoed that theme.

"I encourage all of you to take what you have learned here and build upon that," he said. "Continue to learn and get a good education because with that you can be anything you want to be. Open those books and read, open those books and study."