Micron Technology partnered with Liverpool School District to host a “chip camp” over spring break. The three-day event provided students with a variety of different STEM related experiences.
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Reporter-Gabriel Glynn-Habron: While some may choose to travel over spring break, one local middle is school is collaborating with a national business to give students a one-of-a-kind opportunity right here in central New York.
SOT-Kasey Dolson: The Chip Camp that we have here at Liverpool is a special opportunity through the Micron foundation.They have a variety of STEM activities that they do at Chip Camps.
Reporter: The event ran from Tuesday through Thursday, culminating in one final experiment that seemed like quite the blast.
SOT-Ray Finney: This area we have rockets, it’s hard not to enjoy yourself with rockets. The kids come in and build a rocket and then we launch them and then they can come back and make different iterations over here. They can change the nosecone, can change the fins and try it again.
Reporter: Micron has hosted Chip Camps all around the country, but this is the first time they’ve partnered with a school district. A welcome sight to some people, who are happy to see a big company focusing on the next generation.
SOT-Dolan: When they get to class, they have a better idea of what class to take and then that helps them when they leave school to get into some kind of career. It’s our hope that they are inspired and that they will eventually be the employees of Micron and working as part of that Micron team in our society.
Reporter: Reporting from Liverpool, Gabriel Glynn-Habron NCC News.
LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News)- For some families spring break is a time to travel or take time off of work. But for many others, the break is filled with concern for how their children will be taken care of while they continue to work. Luckily, a local upstate school district offered a unique experience for students during the break.
Micron Technology and the Liverpool Central School District collaborated over the “Spring Recess” to host a Chip Camp at Liverpool Middle School. The event, which was attended by around 120 students, ran from April 4-6. The program gave students the chance to engage with different STEM activities and experiments. The partnership marked the first time that Micron had ever hosted a Chip Camp in New York. The company plans to begin construction on a new manufacturing plant in the town of Clay later this year.
“The Chip Camp that we have happening here in Liverpool is a special opportunity through the Micron foundation,” assistant superintendent Kasey Dolan said. The camp marked one of the several efforts that Micron has made as part of its goal to spend $10 million on local schools.
Events and activities at Chip Camp ranged from teaching students about the chemistry behind tie-dye to traveling to Cornell University to see how computer chips are made.
“What’s so special about this is that it’s really sparking their interest in STEM careers… Micron being new to our area, these will be the local jobs that are here for them in the future,” Liverpool Middle School technology teacher Ray Finney said.
On the final day of the camp, the students were able to test out paper rockets that they learned to design and build. The Liverpool Middle School gym was converted into a temporary test range, as participants placed their rockets on gas powered launchers before sending them flying through the sky.
“It’s hard not to enjoy yourself with rockets, right? So, the kids come in and they build a rocket, then we launch them, and then they can come back and make different iterations,” Finney said.
The event is just the first of several Chip Camps that Micron has planned in Central New York. There’s an event in North Syracuse scheduled for June 27-29 and one at Onondaga Community College July 27-29.