HAYS – Fort Hays State University’s Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science will host four camps for incoming freshmen and sophomores in the month of June. 

Fort Hays State faculty and staff will organize each camp, all of which are focused in areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students will stay in a residence hall on the Fort Hays State campus with staff available all day and night to assist campers. Each camp is four days long with check-in and drop off beginning Sunday evening. 

Camp dates are listed chronologically. 

• May 31-June 4: Engineering Design and Art – 3D Scanning and Printing, Digital Manipulation, and Lost Wax Casting 

The use of 3D printing and scanning is exploding across the engineering and industrial design world. It has also found a home in the art community. At this highly interactive camp, students will learn to use and navigate advanced 3D modeling software to create a self-portrait using wax castings, ceramic molds, and sculpting techniques. Campers will also have an opportunity to use the highly innovative equipment featured at the FHSU Center for Applied Technology to create some one-of-a-kind art projects. Join us for a camp designed for both engineers and artists alike. 

• June 7-11: Math, Code and Magic 

Calling all aspiring magicians and computer scientists. This camp is for you. At this interactive, computer science-based camp, students will learn and acquire basic Java programming skills to reveal the secrets behind some of magic’s most difficult card tricks. Featuring hands-on lab time and graphic user interface learning, campers will work to uncover the mathematics behind some amazing and magical “read your mind” card tricks. Abracadabra. 

• June 14-18: EcoTech – Birds and Bytes 

This camp features exciting biology and introductory computer programming projects to help students discover how hands-on ecology and high-tech tools can work hand-in-hand. Campers will get to conduct water studies at the historic Cheyenne Bottoms, create real smartphone nature-tracking apps, capture and collect data on small mammals, and build DIY trail cameras. These students will even get to develop their computational thinking skills by programming a Raspberry Pi microcomputer. Discover nature with us in a unique and innovative learning environment. 

• June 21-25: Faster than the Speed of Sight 

Physics with high-speed cameras? Count us in. At this camp, students will learn how to use a high-speed camera and analyze video of events that are too fast to see with the naked eye. Questions such as “how long is the blink of an eye” and “do a baseball and basketball really fall at the same rate” will be answered as students collect video recordings of experiments and measure data in a high-speed learning environment. Channel your inner Albert Einstein and explore some of the latest breakthroughs in modern physics. 

There is a $100 registration fee for residents of Kansas and a $400 for non-residents. This fee includes room and board, camp supplies, and a camp T-shirt. Each camp is limited to 20 students and priority will be on a first come, first served basis with a maximum of one camp per student. The priority deadline for registration is April 1. The final deadline for registration is May 1. 

KAMS is an early-entry-to-college program that focuses on advanced mathematics and science. While studying at KAMS, students live on campus in a select residence hall with other KAMS students from across Kansas and around the world. 

Over the course of two years, students complete over 60 hours of college credit. These college classes are taken alongside traditional college undergraduates and taught by college professors while simultaneously contributing to their high school graduation requirements. 

To register for an event, visit fhsu.edu/kams/summer-camps/index. Registration must be mailed in with full payment to reserve a spot. 

For more information, contact Sheila Clark, KAMS Summer Camp Director, at 785-628-4168 or kamssummer@fhsu.edu.