Each year, parents wait for March 1 to register their children for the six to eight summer camps offered by Wichita State University’s College of Engineering. The spots usually fill up within a month. For the last seven years, the program has seen a growth of more than 400 percent.

This year, the college of engineering is offering eight weeklong camps to elementary students. The camps began June 3 and end July 26.

“The camps are filled with hands-on, open-ended challenges and activities designed to introduce (students) to what engineers do, and the different levels of engineering,” said Karen Reynolds, the director of recruitment and retention at the college of engineering.

One of the camps this year was themed “Green Engineering.” As a part of this camp, the students investigated the impact of energy on the environment, and how minimizing their ecological footprint could help create a better future.

As a part of the hands-on learning in this camp, students assembled a LEGO crane and added a solar cell to create electric potential. Using the electric potential, a motor powered the crane, enabling it to be able to lift light loads. Students said they were surprised when their solar power assembly worked perfectly after their initial skepticism.

Reynolds said there are not enough engineers graduating to meet the industry demands of the industry. Exposing students to engineering helps students explore the area as a career path. Reynolds also said the program helps students prepare for engineering by teaching the necessary steps to become an engineer.

Shannon Mills first attended the summer camps in 2009 as a freshman in high school. The theme for her camp was bioengineering, a field she knew little about prior to the camp.

“It made me want to become a bioengineer,” said Mills, a bioengineering sophomore. “I chose to work with these kids to get them interested in engineering.”

Corporate and private donors, and the college of engineering pay for the program.

The corporate sponsors include major aviation companies such as Boeing, LearJet, Spirit Aerosystems and Airbus. Part of the investment goes toward camp scholarships for students needing financial aid.

“In 2012, the college of engineering invested around $25,000 in the summer camps,” said Ana Lazarin, director of programs to broaden participation in engineering.

Apart from the regular camps, the college of engineering selects a few students for a more intensive residential camp on campus in the second week of July.