HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) – Flying drones, exploring virtual reality and predicting landslides were on the agenda Thursday at the University of Kentucky’s Enviropods summer camp.
The camp specializes in giving local middle schoolers the opportunity to learn about careers in weather-related fields.
Program Director and UK Professor Summer Brown said the camp is designed to open students’ eyes to career paths they may not have considered.
“There’s a little bit of a workforce development aspect to it as well,” Brown said. “So, kind of like, making kids aware that this is an option. Like if you’re interested in helping out your community but you’re also really interested in science, going into earth and weather science is a really great way to do that.”
For the students attending, an early interest in weather drew them to the program. Participant Peyton Barnett said a childhood fascination with tornadoes sparked the interest.
“I just see videos of tornadoes when I was little and I was like ‘oh, those are cool!’” Barnett said. “And to see clouds, I’m like, ‘you know what? I like those. I wanna do whatever that is.’”
The camp provides students access to the same resources used by professionals in the Commonwealth. Brown said that distinction is intentional.
“The data and the tools that we use at EnviroPods — it’s actually the real tools and the real data that the scientists in Kentucky are using to study these hazards,” Brown said.
The summer camp tour was designed to visit areas impacted by natural disasters in recent years. The stop in Perry County comes nearly four years after the devastating 2022 flood.
Registration is free for students, and there will be sessions in Frankfort and Somerset to round out the summer.
More information can be found here: ees.as.uky.edu/enviropods
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