By Lynn Hatter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-973801.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Students from in and around Tallahassee are spending a few weeks of their summer in the classroom. The students are taking part in a summer science camp sponsored by Exxon Mobile and Bernard Harris, the first African American to walk in space. Lynn Hatter has more.
"We have 13 layers we need one more layer I'm asking what you want to use for the last layer "
At Florida A&M University a group of students are making a space suit with foil, wax paper, printer sheets, duct tape and folders. It's not a real suit, just a model. But the lesson is important. Because they have to create something that can deflect space debris. It's a model of real-life science. Dr. Bernard Harris is the first African American to walk in space. And he says the camp helps prepare students for future careers.
"And its in those middle school years, going into the ninth grade where we begin to lose kids in general, minorities in particular and also women during this time. So programs like the Bernard Harris-Exxon Mobile Summer science camp capture these kids who have already self-identified themselves as interested in these careers in math and science."
The university is hosting the camp in an effort to support students' interest and strengthen critical thinking skills. University president Dr. James Ammons says it's his hope that the students in the camp today, will be the engineers, scientists and doctors of tomorrow.