Allegheny College Partners with Bayer on International Science Teens Camp

July 24, 2014 – Sixteen high school students—eight from Germany and eight from cities throughout the United States—are at Allegheny College for two weeks for the Bayer International Science Teens Camp. The camp is sponsored by the Bayer Science & Education and Bayer USA Foundations and organized by Creek Connections, an outreach program of Allegheny College that brings hands-on, inquiry-based education about watersheds to students ranging in age from elementary to high school.

Campers, selected by Bayer, are participating in hands-on, field-based learning on this year’s theme: wildlife research and management. In addition to Creek Camp staff, camp instructors include college professors, Allegheny students and alumni and other scientific experts in the field.

Goals for the program include introducing wildlife-based topics to the campers as well as giving them opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of wildlife research and management through participation in data collection and other projects.

Campers are gaining an understanding of research needs and methods used by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, as well as by regional university researchers and nonprofit groups. The teens are also learning about the landscapes and communities of western Pennsylvania.

Daily activities are taking the campers to many of western Pennsylvania’s state parks and other natural areas, including Point State Park, Raccoon Creek State Park, Presque Isle, Erie National Wildlife Refuge, Pymatuning State Park, Moraine State Park and Woodcock Creek. In addition, a day trip to Niagara Falls is planned, as well as a trip to Bayer in Pittsburgh, which has been certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council as “lands for learning.”

Campers also experience a preview of college life by staying on the historic Allegheny College campus, which has been rated by the Sierra Club as one of the greenest colleges in the United States (with a score of 96 out of 99).

Photo: Bayer International Science Teens Camp campers and staff.