UMES hosted a group of 15 freshman and sophomore high school students in late July for a weeklong exploration of opportunities at the Historically Black College and University. The residential experience was part of the Educational Solutions Charter School’s (Columbus, Ohio) College and Career Readiness Summer Program.
The visiting teens chose from three educational tracks across disciplines on campus, one of which was a marine science track facilitated by UMES Extension 4-H STEM.
“The summer campers met UMES faculty and researchers in the field, did hands-on marine science activities, learned about our local ecosystem, and explored potential college and career paths,” said Ariel Clay, 4-H youth development STEM specialist at UMES.
Participants began the week with a trip to the UMES-administered Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center near Assateague Island, Maryland. They tried their hands at using a seine net in the shallow coastal waters of the Sinepuxent Bay to collect samples of small fish and invertebrates. A tour of the center’s research facilities introduced students to current activities, such as monitoring potentially harmful levels of bacteria in the canals around nearby Ocean City.
Subsequent days were filled with a college and career readiness session, marine experiments and dissections of blue crabs and a small shark.
The final day included a field trip to the Delmarva Discovery Museum in Pocomoke, where the teens explored exhibits of the lower Eastern Shore’s ecology, wildlife and natural history. They were also treated to a behind-the-scenes tour to learn about the care of the center’s resident river otters, snakes, turtles and insects.
“UMES Extension 4-H STEM’s educators greatly enjoyed working with this group of teens and look forward to welcoming another delegation from the charter school in 2025,” Clay said. “Our team is always happy to facilitate STEM programming for K-12 groups visiting UMES, or is willing to discuss options for in-school or after-school programs.”
Clay can be reached at amclay@umes.edu.
Above: Polan Mburugu (left) and Yasir Abdullahi dissect a Maryland blue crab during the weeklong experiential learning summer program at UMES.
At right: Capt. Christopher Daniels with the Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center near Assateague Island, Maryland, helps visiting high school students use a seine net to study aquatic life in the Sinepuxent Bay.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850.
Photos by Todd Dudek, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, tdudek@umes.edu.
