Photos: Oakland middle schoolers immerse themselves in STEM at SLAC summer camp

SLAC hosted 21 students from an Oakland middle school for the 9th annual CORE Science Institute (July 15-19, 2024). The fun-filled summer camp aims to cultivate a sense of belonging in science and engineering among youth, especially those from historically underrepresented groups.

Students engaged in a variety of activities that explained science and engineering in playful ways, from the physics of basketball to the science of accelerators. This photo shows some of the middle schoolers as they learn how to build a paper rocket.

3, 2, 1, liftoff! In this photo, students launch a paper rocket they had built during camp.

In the activity shown in this photo, students acted first as “programmers,” writing instructions for how to build a simple structure. Then, acting as a “computer,” they had to build a different structure using instructions written by a classmate.

Students had many opportunities to engage with SLAC staff to learn about the lives and careers of scientists and engineers. In this photo, Margaux Lopez, mechanical engineer and co-organizer of the CORE Science Institute, introduces students to one of the hands-on projects. "My goal is to make science and engineering feel interesting as disciplines and, more importantly, accessible as career paths. By exposing these students to a wide diversity of people and projects across the lab, I hope to show that their options really are limited by only their imaginations," Lopez said.

On the camp’s final day, the students presented the work they had done all week to their families, friends and the SLAC community.

To wrap up an exciting week, camp participants joined a musical performance at a closing ceremony at SLAC, which was part of Stanford University’s monthlong Juneteenth celebrations.