MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Sean Vornhagen didn’t mind the burning smell inside the Middle Tennessee State University chemistry lab. He loves science “and my two favorite sciences are chemistry and biology,” he said, knowing burning smells come with the territory.
Vornhagen, 17, of Nolensville, and his fellow MTSU College of Basic and Applied Sciences STEM Camp participants were “burning food and heating water to find out how many calories were in the food,” he said, adding he plans to apply to MTSU.
A group of participants in the 2024 Middle Tennessee State University College of Basic and Applied Sciences STEM Camp watch an automatic mission and later have an opportunity to fly an MTSU Aerospace Department unmanned aircraft systems vehicle, or drone, on campus recently in Murfreesboro, Tenn. High school students from around the Midstate spent five days experiencing hand-on science, technology, engineering, match and more during the camp. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)
A rising Nolensville High School senior, Vornhagen was one of 40 students attending this summer’s STEM camp — featuring science, technology, engineering and math — held recently in the Science Building, Davis Science Building, Wiser-Patten Science Hall and other campus indoor and outdoor facilities.
During the camp, held July 15-19, participants from around the Midstate conducted a quantum levitation of a superconductor, learned about forensics, solved chemistry problems with math, flew unmanned aircraft, studied the capabilities of concrete and more.
While Middle Tennessee State University College of Basic and Applied Sciences STEM Camp participants wait to a start the burning process with a lighter, MTSU Chemistry Department Chair Amy Phelps, center, prepares cheese curls in a process to determine how many calories are in the food. The activity occurred Tuesday, July 16, in the Science Building chemistry lab on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Middle Tennessee State University Physics and Astronomy associate professor Hanna Terletska, foreground, performs a quantum levitation of a superconductor while area high school students watch during the recent MTSU College of Basic and Applied Sciences STEM Camp showcasing science, technology, engineering and math in a Wiser-Patten Science Hall classroom on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Forty students attended the five-day camp, which will return next summer. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Early in the week, Chemistry Department Chair Amy Phelps said the one group burning food and heating water to discover how many calories were in the food were “more reserved, but they seem to enjoy what’s happening. I wasn’t hearing much ‘woo’ (excitement). I told them I needed to hear more ‘woo’ from them.”
Dr. Amy J. Phelps
Phelps said her groups throughout the week would learn about “making things go, rockets, explosive energy and caloric energy. It’s all about converting one kind of energy to another kind. … We tried to make it entertaining and engaging.”
The campers, to show the teenagers a dose of college life, received mentoring from MTSU faculty and undergraduate and graduate students.
MTeach, an MTSU program preparing teachers to teach science and agriculture to middle school and high school students, Concrete Industry Management and Physics and Astronomy were areas the campers explored. They also had three days of team building in the Campus Recreation Center and collaborated on final-day presentations.
The science college will offer the fourth annual CBAS STEM next summer. For more information call 615-898-2613 or visit the college website https://cbas.mtsu.edu.
— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)
Fonya Crockett Scott, center, Middle Tennessee State University MTeach master teacher, and College of Basic and Applied Sciences STEM Camp participants Liam Grant, left, and Zach Braddock, view their sample of worker termites in preparation for an investigation on termite behavior — which way do they go? — recently in a Science Building classroom on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. They were part of 40 students expanding their horizons in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Middle Tennessee State University Concrete Industry Management Director Jon Huddleston, center, explains a concrete process to a 2024 College of Basic and Applied Sciences STEM Camp participant as camper Haven Rising, right works on his project in the concrete cube strength competition in a classroom in the School of Concrete and Construction Management Building on the east side of campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The campers wrapped up the five-day event with presentations on Friday, July 19. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)
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