Ohio Wesleyan’s OWjL Camp Receives $3,000 Grant from Time Warner Cable
OWjL campers solve a mystery during their ‘Murder in the Chem Lab’ class. Ohio Wesleyan received a ‘Connect A Million Minds’ grant from Time Warner Cable Inc. to support this and other courses that support STEM understanding. (Photo by Julianne Zala ’17)
DELAWARE, OHIO – Time Warner Cable Inc. is awarding a $3,000 “Connect A Million Minds” grant to Ohio Wesleyan University’s OWjL summer camp program to support science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) enrichment programming for hundreds of talented and gifted middle school students from nine central Ohio counties.
The Time Warner Cable (TWC) funding will be used to sponsor eight classes that increase STEM understanding, interest, motivation, and awareness for up to 540 OWjL participants by providing the campers with fun, hands-on learning experiences. Ohio Wesleyan will host three OWjL camps this month for sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Pickaway, and Union counties.
While living on the OWU campus, the talented and gifted students will take part in weeklong STEM-related classes including “Murder in the Chem Lab,” “Math Competition and Problem-Solving,” “Microscopic Mythbusters,” and “River Rats,” an environmental-conservation course.
Overall, OWjL offers 50 fun but challenging courses in both arts and sciences. Students must be nominated by principals, guidance counselors, or teachers to be eligible to attend OWjL.
Executive Director Susan Paxton said the Time Warner Cable “Connect A Million Minds” grant will help OWjL to expose talented and gifted students at a young age to a science curriculum that both informs and entertains them.
Such exposure “may pique the students’ interest in pursuing study of the sciences in college and possibly seeking a career in a STEM field,” Paxton said.
Pronounced “owl,” the camp’s acronym stands for Ohio Wesleyan/Junior League of Columbus, which founded the program 34 years ago. Since then, more than 10,000 children have benefited from the OWjL experience.
OWjL was created following a two-year study that determined talented and gifted middle school students were underserved during the school year with programs to promote discovery and foster skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, research, leadership, and communication. Learn more at https://www.owu.edu/about/offices-services/owjl-camp/
About Time Warner Cable Inc.
With roots that stretch back to 1968, Time Warner Cable is among the largest providers of video, high-speed data, and voice services in the United States, connecting 15.4 million customers in 29 states – including Ohio – to entertainment, information, and each other. TWC became the first cable company ever to receive an Emmy® Award when it was honored in the mid-1990s with the Engineering Award for Outstanding Achievement in Technological Development. Since then, TWC has earned eight more Technology and Engineering Emmys. Learn more at www.twc.com.
About Ohio Wesleyan University
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.