Micron brought their chip STEM camp to Central New York for the first time this month. It was also the first time it's ever offered the event in the spring. 

The camp is part of Micron’s ongoing effort to get youth involved in the area of STEM and chip manufacturing ahead of breaking ground on their semiconductor manufacturing plant in the town of Clay. 

Eighth-grader Yuna Dhakl said previous experiences with STEM activists had her curious about what the fuss is about. 

“I really like the idea of STEM activities, and I even went to Cornell and did activities there, so I thought it was going to be really interesting,” she said. 

Already interested in STEM, she said she wanted to see what Micron has to offer the community. 

“I wanted to learn more about Micron, and I think it’s pretty cool that Micron is now coming,” she added. 

Organizers say they want kids to get to know their future neighbor Micron, but they also want them to get a close look at what Micron does and how they can get involved. 

“This is one of our premier community engagement programs centering around STEM education,” said Robert Simmons, head of social impact & STEM programs for Micron. “Increasing kids understanding of advanced manufacturing, chips and memory.” 

At camp, that meant simulating through activities the challenges professionals face at a semiconductor plant, and working together to come up with solutions. One such activity saw students building a large tower out of straws, being asked to work with their hands behind their back to simulate production issues, and having to refrain from speaking for a section of the challenge to simulate communication challenges. 

“It’s important for us to build the next generation of young people who are going to be interested in STEM education” Simmons said. “We need the next generation of young people to work not just a Micron, but in all sorts of STEM professions, because young people are digital natives. This is what they know.”

While Dhakl said she’s not quite ready to commit to a direction when it comes to a future career, she enjoyed learning about the possibilities the future holds. 

“Right now, I haven’t thought about a STEM career, but maybe in the future when I’m in high school, maybe I will take STEM into consideration,” she said. 

Micron expects to offer more chip camps in the area.