Summer Tech Camp July 2006

In July 2006 the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center held a special program for students of the area. It included videoconferencing and web site design as part of a special technology initiative. Teachers Neme Alperstein and Elizabeth Lebowitz helped launch the community's first such program and we're pleased to report it was a great success. We even were joined by summer intern Ronald Parabdin who helped our students design their web pages.

By bringing the new technology of videoconferencing to Richmond Hill, the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center has made it possible for our students to meet and learn about people and science all over the world. The students were phenomenal as we collaborated daily with students and organizations around the United States and abroad. Some of our outstanding events included:

- meeting "virtually" with the Lee Richardson Zoo in Kansas and its science and distance learning specialist, Ryan Schaffer. Reptiles, amphibians, birds-- you name it, we met it (on screen through Ryan, of course!). We learned some amazing facts about frogs, owls, lizards and more. Learning with Ryan was great fun.

-connecting with Kennedy Space Center on the very day the astronauts returned from the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Space science educator and expert, Damon Talley, was on hand to help us learn about NASA's many activities in space. Joining us were our friends from the Anchorsholme School in Blackpool, England. It was cool to see both Kennedy Space Center and England at the same time, and talk to everyone. That is the power of videoconferencing!

-meet and work with students in Odessa, Texas on a heritage project! We met genealogists from Texas who taught us how to go about researching our heritage and where to find important resources for learning about our history and that of our country. We even discovered characteristics our family members had in common with pioneers who were brave enough to come to this country, often alone!

-a visit to the REAL CSI -- the City of New York Police Department Detective Bureau Forensic Investigation Division -- or better known as the Crime Lab for all of New York City. That's quite a lot of detective work all in one place. We were given a tour as we learned about how they test guns, work in the lab, and track down criminals and solve cases. It was amazing. That's a visit we'll never forget.

-a special visit by NY State Senator Serphin Maltese who told us about laws and the work he does in Albany. While he was visiting, Ryan Schaffer of the zoo in Kansas, and Damon Talley of Kennedy Space Center, dropped in (through our videoconferencing unit, of course) to say hello and demonstrate how we use this technology.