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It has already been a busy summer for students at the Warren Forest Higher Education Council.
The Hi-Ed has held three camps for middle school students in the last two weeks: Wilderness Camp, Lego Robotics Camp, and Code Warriors Camp.
All three went well, according to Hi-Ed School to Work Coordinator Jesse DeLoof.
"The camps went great," DeLoof said. "They all filled up fast and the kids enjoyed them."
Wilderness Camp attendees practiced the "leave no trace" concept while hiking and orienteering at Rimrock and Hickory Creek Wilderness. Working with camp counselor Kirk Johnson, the students also studied plant and animal identification.
Lego Robotics camp gave students a look into the world of engineering.
"The kids built lego kits and programmed robots to go through an obstacle course," DeLoof said. "They programmed the robots on the computer with light sensors."
Students had to calculate the radius of the wheel of their robot to find out how many turns would be necessary to complete the course. The last day of the camp was course completion day.
The students, along with instructors Craig King and Eric Shotts, also got to visit Targeted Pet Treats and Betts Industries to see how robots work in real-life industries.
Code Warriors Camp focused on the ever-growing field of computer programming.
"The kids loved this one," DeLoof said. "Some of the kids had lots of experience with programming, and some had none. Everyone got to start at their own levels, so everyone learned something."
Students worked with instructor Rebecca Downey and guest speakers on Java Script, HTML, and other programs on computers at the Hi-Ed.
DeLoof said the Hi-Ed is looking to add more summer camps in the future.
"We are definitely interested in adding to our camp lineup next year," he said. "I'd like to thank all the organizations that allowed the kids to come in and see how things work. All three camps were really positive."