2023 Camp FAQ
Please submit all questions to stemcamps@maine.edu, or fill out our Contact Us form.
The University of Maine System does not require vaccinations for summer day-camps.
Masking is not required at the University of Maine System summer camps.
We are currently using the LEGO EV3 Mindstorms Kit, but LEGO replacement for the EV3 with the Spike Prime robot. At the time of this writing, we are anticipating running most LEGO Robotics camps with the LEGO EV3, but we will likely run one camp set with the Spike Prime.
We will be running with our normal camp ratio which is about 1 staff for every 5+/- campers for the LEGO Robotics and Minecraft camps and 1 staff for every 4 campers in the BYOCC and 3D printing camps.
The curriculum for our Minecraft camp is designed to be an introduction to programming concepts – learning how programming works and the concepts that it is built on. We generally do not dive too far deep into coding a particular language until later in the week. That being said, it is a very scalable camp, depending on the campers abilities, and in the end they will be able to use what they know and apply that in the Minecraft coding environment.
As for specific languages that we use in the camp, we use Lua and JavaScript primarily. As it is an introductory class, we spend a bit of time “block coding” – a stripped down version of coding to teach the concepts behind it. However, at any time, the students can switch to the script version and code that way.
Primarily we use a different version of MineCraft called MineCraft Edu. It is currently on 1.12.60, but it does not exactly mirror the original game in terms of updates.
A reminder to check the Policies section in the main menu about camp policies and cancellation policies. As we are moving our programs into USM for this coming year we are still working on our policies.
In person or remote, the hours are the same, we normally run 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. For in person camps, please plan on dropping off between 8:45 and 9:00 am. Pick up is from 3:30 to 3:45.
No. Everything should be included with the cost of the camp. Some of the software will be provided on a flash drive when you pick up the equipment, others will be a free download for the campers to get on the first day of camp. As for equipment, everything should be included. That is our goal, but this is still a new process for us. If we hit small snags on our first week or two, it might be easier if parents can grab a thingy from the local store than for us to order then online and then have them shipped to you (to arrive after the camp is over). Normally our camp leaders would be running to the local store in the evening if they found they were missing something and then bring it into the camp the next day.