Intercultural Summer Camps: A New, Collaborative Model For Informal STEM Education

As society becomes increasingly globalized, educational physics opportunities that promote both global thinking and increased representation are critically needed for ongoing the health of the STEM enterprise. To meet this need, informal physics educators from across the world have joined to develop a series of one-week camps designed to expose students in our local communities to collaborative and intercultural scientific experiences. These camps, implemented simultaneously at multiple global sites, will employ curricula featuring both real-time and asynchronous collaboration between student participants. Additionally, the cross-cultural nature of these camps is designed to facilitate their implementation in a number of locales, especially those with limited access to resources. We will discuss design philosophy, curriculum development, and aspects of volunteer training and testing for the camps, as well as future plans for implementation.