USF Summer Camp gears kids up for science and engineering careers

By: Isabel Mascareñas

Tampa, Florida - A need for more scientists and engineers sparked the need for this summer camp. The STARS camp caters to elementary school kids.

This year 135 third, fourth and fifth graders from Hillsborough schools participated. Friday's theme is space adventure, and the kids pretend to be astronauts.

The program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The camp is an extension of a year long program at 10 Hillsborough schools where USF fellows mentor elementary school teachers in science.

Tapas Das, Director of USF's STARS Program:

"The goal for the two week camp is to build excitement that they could be scientists, be engineers really create excitement in their minds that's our goal."

Punesh Singh, STARS Summer Camp Student::

“I want to be an astronaut because I want to see how many moons we have, how many caters and rocks and meteors. So one day if a meteor tries to hit earth we can blast it back to orbit.”

This is the fifth year USF has offered the camp. The school recently won another grant to extend the STARS program another four years.