Registration Underway for the 2012 Maryland Summer Centers

[Howard Hartman]

For Immediate Release	March 22, 2012

Registration Underway for the
2012 Maryland Summer Centers

Private funding allows 14 Summer Centers to open

BALTIMORE, MD (March 22, 2012) – The registration deadline is looming for the 14 Maryland Summer Centers coordinated through the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). For 45 years the Summer Centers program has offered unique instructional experiences for gifted and talented students entering grades 3 through 12. Students have the opportunity to work with like-minded peers in an area of ability and interest. Applications must be postmarked by April 15th.

The Centers offer one to three-week residential and non-residential programs with a focus on the arts, sciences, technology, computer science, and engineering. The activities are designed to encourage critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving while challenging students academically.

The 14 Summer Centers are:

• Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Salisbury University, Wicomico County (Funded by Salisbury University and Jack Kent Cooke Foundation)
• Dixon Center for Creative Writing and Film Production at Washington College, Washington College, Kent County (Funded by Dixon Valve and Coupling Company)
• Center for Computer Programming: Animation and Robotics, Aberdeen High School, Harford County
• Center for Computer Science and Creativity, Community College of Baltimore County – Essex Campus (Funded by Northrop Grumman)
• Center for Future Engineers: Robot Design, Frostburg State University, Allegany County (Funded by Northrop Grumman, the Maryland Space Business Roundtable, and ATK Space)
• Center for Space Engineering: Robotics, The Howard B. Owens Science Center, Prince George’s County (Funded by Jack Kent Cooke Foundation)
• Center for Space Science, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Howard County (Funded by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC))
• Center for the Physics of Solar and Wind Power, Frostburg State University, Allegany County (Funded by Northrop Grumman)
• Center for Urban Sustainability at the Maryland Science Center, The Maryland Science Center, Baltimore City (Funded by Northrop Grumman)
• Honeywell Institute for Ecosystems Education at Horn Point, University of Maryland, Horn Point Environmental Lab, Cambridge, Dorchester County (Funded by Honeywell Hometown Solutions)
• Chesapeake Bay Watershed Investigations at the National Aquarium, National Aquarium, Baltimore City and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Dorchester County (Funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation)
• Center for Conservation Research, Harford Glen Environmental Education Center, Harford County (Funded by Harford County Public Schools)
• Center for Law and Government, University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore City
• Center for Global Languages, Meade Middle School, Anne Arundel County (Funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation)

The Maryland Summer Centers program, in partnership with public and nonpublic agencies, provides Maryland’s diverse gifted and talented students with advanced, rigorous, experiential learning opportunities that nurture these students’ talents and abilities within unique learning environments.

Tuition ranges from $200 to $1,200 and full and partial scholarships are available for those who need financial assistance. An online brochure and application forms are available from local gifted and talented education coordinators or on the Maryland State Department of Education website at www.MarylandPublicSchools.org/summercenters.

Applications must be postmarked by Sunday, April 15, except Arts Centers, which have earlier deadlines. Materials are available in Spanish upon request. For more information contact Stephanie F. Zenker at 410-767-0821.