— courtesy VGCC

Enjoying what the head of the Vance-Granville Community College Science Department joked was a “well-rounded” experience, area middle school students traveled “around the world” at the college’s seventh annual Science Camp in June.

“The campers enjoyed activities focused on biology, geology, chemistry, physics, medical science and applied science,” according to VGCC Science Department Chair Steve McGrady. “These sessions were interspersed with games about Earth’s continents and oceans.”

Science Camp participants, from left, Tara Journigan of Henderson, Janea Camacho of Oxford and Ethan Hann of Oxford, with VGCC Science Department Chair Steve McGrady, conduct an experiment using red cabbage during a session on chemistry. (VGCC photo)

A total of 35 students, including rising sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties, completed the day camp. The theme on the first day was the Americas; the second, Australia; the third, Eurasia; the fourth, Africa; and the fifth, Antarctica.

The week was full of fun, hands-on activities designed to pique campers’ curiosity as they consider their future educational and career aspirations. Sessions were taught by VGCC instructors, including many from departments outside the natural sciences, from Electronics Engineering Technology to Pharmacy Technology. McGrady expressed his appreciation to the many faculty and staff members from across all of the college’s academic divisions, who volunteered their time and talents to make the camp a success.

Science Camp participant Amarii Blair of Henderson (in foreground) flies a kite in the courtyard on VGCC’s Main Campus, during a session in which campers learned about aerodynamics as they created and tested their own kites. (VGCC photo)

Four volunteer counselors helped facilitate the camp, all of them recent graduates of the College Transfer program at VGCC: Elizabeth Cole of Kittrell; Francis Scotland and Alana Towles, both of Oxford; and Micah Roberts of Stem.

Several students who attended the camp in previous years also served as “counselors in training”: Roberto Chaves-Smith and Emani’ Foster, both of Henderson Collegiate; Michael Hall and Ryan Hall, both of Falls Lake Academy; Yumyah Hargrove, an incoming Vance County Early College High School student; Jadyn Myrick of Granville Central High School; and Luke Woltz of Oxford Prep.

–VGCC–