The Harding University Finley STEM Center is hosting ten middle school students from the Searcy School District for its STEM day camp June 14-18. The University is holding the first of six camps across the state.

The camp, funded by the Arkansas Migrant Education Program in cooperation with the Arkansas STEM Coalition, provides students with the opportunity to be involved in hands-on math and science investigations throughout the week.

“It is exciting to be a part of this state-wide program,” department of chemistry and biochemistry lecturer, Heather Hollandsworth said. “We are hosting the first of 6 STEM camps across Arkansas, incorporating lots of hands-on activities for the students to integrate math and science. We plan to have them using lab equipment to make measurements, graph their results, and create procedures to solve problems. This is a great opportunity for us to work with local middle schoolers and to be able to give them a week-long camp devoted to STEM.”

The Finley center coordinates events with Searcy-area schools throughout the year to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and math. It also offers professional development and hands-on training for math and science teachers.