University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

During a past Excelsior Scholars’ camp, students collected insect specimens at Tifft Nature Preserve. They then extracted and analyzed the insects’ DNA using a sophisticated Polymerase Chain Reactor machine and generated a DNA gel to see if the insects tested positive for the Wolbachia bacteria. Photo: ERIC D. VOSBURGH

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• “It gave me my first real practical exposure to science and taught me many things I had never known.”

  Patrick Asamoah

  2010 Excelsior Scholar

By CHARLES ANZALONE

Published: May 5, 2011

UB’s Center for Educational Collaboration (CEC) this summer again will embrace its inner cool scientist with a full program of science and math programs—as well as the popular “Wiggle Your Power” civic engagement camp.

Now in its fourth year, the CEC’s three summer programs provide an opportunity for accomplished Western New York middle and elementary students to check out the possibilities of a career in science, learn the lessons of social responsibility, absorb wisdom from some of UB’s brightest minds and have a great time doing it.

The CEC was founded in 2007 to mobilize and align diverse university resources and expertise to help area youth become more aware of academic and civic opportunities in the community and university.

“Although reluctant at first, attending and participating in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program was one of the most exciting things I have ever done,” says Patrick Asamoah, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute who took part in the 2010 Excelsior Scholar program and will return this summer as a student mentor.

“It gave me my first real practical exposure to science and taught me many things I had never known. The program was truly a great and enlightening experience and I will not hesitate to participate again, given another opportunity.”

The CEC’s summer curriculum also includes “Wiggle Your Power,” a program that aims to help younger students identify their special talents and gifts, and how to use them to make a difference in the community and world around them. The title and program are taken from a children’s book written by Mara Huber, founding director of the CEC, and her now 10-year-old daughter, Elena.

“This summer, we’re taking ‘Wiggle’ to the next level,” says Huber. “We’re focusing on the importance of water, and adding a social entrepreneurism component, allowing students to invest seed money in art projects, trying to raise as much money as possible.”

Karen King, coordinator of the camp, says all proceeds will benefit a water and sanitation project in the village of Kitenga in Northern Tanzania, being done in partnership with area Rotary clubs as part of the larger Buffalo Tanzania Education Project (BTEP).

All the programs are paths to CEC goals: accelerate students’ academic progress, positively influence their attitudes and perceptions toward the sciences, increase the likelihood of them remaining in the preK-16 pipeline and successfully pursuing educational and workforce pathways in important areas of economic growth.

Over the past three years, these programs have reached more than 1,000 local students and inspired many to consider entering high schools that focus on the sciences, and other higher educational and career pathways.

The three summer programs offered this year are:

• Excelsior Scholars: Aug. 1-12. This two-week program is geared toward accomplished sixth, seventh and eighth-graders on the path to take eighth-grade Regents courses in living environment and algebra. Held at the Buffalo Museum of Science, the camp aims to improve students’ academic achievement and behavioral development of students. Students take field trips to Tifft Nature Preserve in Buffalo to collect insect specimens to determine, through advanced DNA extraction and testing techniques, whether or not the insects carry Wolbachia, a parasitic microbe that affects the reproductive cycle of insects.

Students help real-world scientists learn about the microbe by reporting their findings to a national database, then presenting their work to local scientists, parents, friends and family. The sessions also are designed to increase students’ awareness of and interest in educational and career pathways in the sciences. Cost: $300.

• Innovation Station: Aug. 15-19. Successfully debuting in 2010, Innovation Station gives accomplished elementary and middle school students the chance to explore engineering concepts with UB faculty, graduate students and researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Students take field trips to see firsthand exciting work in engineering both on the UB campus and in local industry. Program organizers promise to repeat last year’s track record of exciting hands-on projects and discoveries. Cost: $125.

• Wiggle Your Power: Aug. 8-12. Another program offered for the first time in 2010, Wiggle Your Power teaches civic engagement to outstanding fifth- to eighth-grade students through fun, age-appropriate activities. The course helps students clarify their talents and resources, learn about community needs, visit agencies dedicated to improving the lives of those in their communities and decide how to use a portion of their registration fees to “wiggle their power.” Cost: $150.

For more information, to register for a program, or to contribute to a scholarship for a deserving youth to attend any of these camps call 829-3099 or visit the CEC website.