Sensory Engineering in the Field

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Last Updated: Apr 28, 2025, 10:43 AM

Goal

The goal of the camp is to expose students to practical applications in engineering, the connections between engineering technology and their own biological sensory systems, to consider emerging careers in coding, robotics, and agricultural engineering, and to meet new friends who share an interest in science and technology.
This camp is a collaboration between the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) and the Southern Illinois University, STEM Education Research Center. Both organizations are devoted to enhancing the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy of the general public as well as the development of future leaders in these fields.
This camp for students entering grades 7-8 will integrate biology, engineering, and computer coding for five half-days in July.
Students will engage in hands-on explorations into engineering lead by staff from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) and SIU STEM Education Research Center, assisted by future math and science education teachers working toward their undergraduate university degrees. Most of the activity will take place in Pulliam Hall, but students will also have an opportunity to be outside and see other areas of the SIU Carbondale campus.
Farmers and biologists have always used their five senses to assess the health of plants. Increasingly, smart machines can be programmed to do the same. Students will learn about the function of the human sensory systems and create devices to duplicate these systems using electronic sensors and tiny computers (micro: bits). Students will learn to program using a simple form of block coding. By the end of the week, each student team will have created and programmed a device to scan a plant leaf, identify common problems, and recommend the appropriate corrective action. The final challenge will be to mount their device on a small robotic vehicle that can navigate through a simulated field of row crops.

Important Dates

Dates: July 21st - 25th, 2025.

Meets: Monday to Friday from 8:30 AM to 12 Noon.

Registration deadline is July 7, 2025.

Registration

For Online registrations, Please Register here

Registration Form(PDF)

Phone 618/536-7751

Registration deadline is July 7, 2025.

Important notes

Registration Fee: $125
Snacks will be provided, but no breakfast or lunch.

Contact Information

Patrick Young

Camp Director

Rebecca Dycus

For registration questions