The inaugural GATE academy MakerCamp drew a crowd of elementary schoolers from the Sulphur Springs School District to learn about engineering and computer science over a three-day summer camp.

“It’s really giving the students an opportunity to show their learning in a creative way instead of just paper and pencil,” said Kathy Harris, the assistant superintendent of curriculum instruction for the district. “We wanted to offer our GATE students an opp to be creative thinkers.”

The camp, which ran from June 21-23, allowed the district’s “gifted” students to pilot the program, which focuses on teaching science, technology, engineering, art and math, known collectively as STEAM, to the students.

“We designed a pre-survey the first day and we added in all the topics that we were covering this week. They wrote ‘IDK (I don’t know)’ for every question. They took the post-survey (after the camp) and they were able to answer every question,” said Kelly Iles, a teacher in the district who volunteered to teach at the MakerCamp. “They’ve learned so much.”

Students went through a variety of tasks during the camp, ranging from creating 3D-printable models to using a greenscreen.

One of the projects involved using aluminum foil to control computer programs by movement. Students created a piano similar to the one seen in the movie “Big,” where they could play songs by stepping on the keys.

“It’s hooked up to a computer,” said Iles. “They’re’ trying different types of materials to determine if they were conductive.”

The goal was to give the 70 students enrolled in the program a chance to explore new ideas to prepare them for the changing world.

“We wanted to offer an opportunity  for our high achieving students to go above what they would do in a regular classroom,” said Harris. “We’re very pleased with the number of participants and the parents that were willing to bring them.”

Iles agreed, adding that the students “are going to be doing jobs that may not even be created yet. It’s loud, it’s noisy, but there’s a lot of learning going on.”

As for the future of the program, officials are hopeful that it can expand to more students during the school year.

“We do plan to continue to offer these opportunities outside of the school year but we’re also planning to bring them into the school year,” said Harris. “At our different school sites, we have teachers…who are willing to start clubs and implement this for all students.”

Iles said that the excitement about learning that the program inspires will continue into the fall.\

“It’s really stimulated a lot of excitement regarding the engineering and creating process,” she said. “It definitely carries over into the classroom.”

This first test of the program left the officials piloting it hopeful about the continued success of students exploring these fields.

“They know what they’re doing,” said Harris. “We just give them the opportunity and the tools.”