A group of 20 Patrick County students visited Virginia Tech on June 21 to check out Professor Michael Hsiao’s GameChangineer program.

Hsiao developed the software as a way to use video game design to teach both programming concepts and reading skills. Eventually, he hopes school systems will be able to use GameChangineer in the classroom.

The trip was part of the four-day STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) camp that is offered through collaboration between Reynolds Homestead and Patrick County Schools.

“We want to be able to provide examples of opportunities for our students that prepare them if they chose to pursue a job in the technology field,” explained Andrea Cassell, instructional coordinator for Patrick County Schools. “We want to prepare our students to be ready to be leaders in our world.”

The STEM camp for grades three through seven is sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research in Danville. Each year focuses on a different topic and a county teacher accompanies the students. This year, Patrick County High School teacher Holly Dillon joined the campers.

On Monday, June 19, the STEM campers toured the information technology program at Danville Community College, which is a Center for Excellence in the field of Cyber Defense. Tuesday’s outing was to the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research for a lesson on robotics and coding. On Thursday, June 22, campers spent time with Nathan Liles of Let’s Code Blacksburg building gaming software.