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FOCUS Camp 

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2023 FOCUS Dates: 

July 31-August 4

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2023 FOCUS Costs: $150

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2023 Schedule (subject to change):

Camp will meet each day from 9 am-4 pm

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9-9:30 am:           Drop-off at Exploratory Hall, GMU Fairfax 

9:30-10 am:         Morning Team Session

10:15-11:45 am:  STEM Workshop Session 1

12-1 pm:              Lunch

1:15-2:45 pm:      STEM Workshop Session 2

3-3:30 pm:           Afternoon Group Session

3:30-4 pm:           Pick-up at Exploratory Hall, GMU Fairfax

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FOCUS Camp*

The original FOCUS program!



The FOCUS camp for middle school students began in 2014.  It is a week-long camp which is held on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University for rising 6th-8th graders.  Each day the participants engage in four different interactive and hands-on STEM workshops and on the last day, the participants present what they learned in these workshops in a conference-style setting.  Camp is held from 9 am-4 pm each day.  Drop-off in the morning begins at 9 am.

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Sample Schedule

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Monday (Science Day):

Registration

Camp pre-assessment

Team building activities

Science workshop 1

Buffet lunch in university dining hall (included in camp price)

Science workshop 2

Team building activities and review

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Tuesday (Technology Day):

Team building activities

Technology workshop 1

Buffet lunch in university dining hall (included in camp price)

Technology workshop 2

Team building activities and review

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Wednesday (Engineering Day):

Team building activities

Engineering workshop 1

Buffet lunch in university dining hall (included in camp price)

Engineering workshop 2

Team building activities and review

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Thursday (Mathematics Day):

Team building activities

Mathematics workshop 1

Buffet lunch in university dining hall (included in camp price)

Mathematics workshop 2

Team building activities and review

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Friday:

STEM Leadership and Entrepreneurship workshop 

Camp post-assessment

Preparation for poster presentations

Buffet lunch in university dining hall (included in camp price)

Poster presentations and closing ceremony

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Examples of past workshops:

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Monday (Science Day):

Anodization of Niobium (jewelry-making) 

The Genetics of Sickle-Cell Anemia

Forensic Science:  The Real CSI

Astronomy and Telescopes 

Sustainable Action Survey and River Sample Analysis with US Fish & Wildlife

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Tuesday (Technology Day):

HTML Programming

Bioinformatics

Map Making and Geographic Information Systems

Squishy Circuits 

Robotics and Coding

App-building

Facial Reconstruction using FACES Software

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Wednesday (Engineering Day):

Electrical and Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace

3-D Printing

Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

Underwater ROV Construction 

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Thursday (Mathematics Day):

Mason Experimental Geometry Laboratory

Applied Mathematics with Mitre

The Law of Large Numbers:  Testing Probability

Snowflake Symmetry

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Friday:

Using STEM to Solve Real-World Problems

Speed Mentoring

College Application and Admissions Panel

FOCUS Academy Panel (junior counselors from the residential high school program)

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*While the program is designed for girls, the program is open to all gender identities.

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