Knoch Middle School students participate in Robotics Rendezvous, a two-week camp that is part of the school district's first summer program known as K-STEAM Scholars. The summer program spans six weeks and encompasses four different camps. Submitted Photo

Twenty students from Knoch Middle School and high school are participating in the school district’s first STEAM camp this summer, with programming running for six weeks.

The four hands-on camps conclude with projects and feature visiting experts from Brayman Construction, Advanced Construction Robotics, Bayer, Coherent, Oberg, Penn United Technologies and SGK, all representing STEAM fields.

The summer program, known as K-STEAM Scholars, also incorporates field trips to Bayer in Saxonburg and the Robotics Department of Brayman Construction.

According to the Knoch Knights Legacies Foundation, the summer program will prepare students entering seventh through 12th grades for a new Knoch High School STEAM lab that is part of the school’s renovation project. The $38 million school renovation project is slated for completion in fall 2025.

The summer program is made possible through a $50,000 donation from Stephen Muck through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program by partnering with Friends of Education, a special-purpose entity that assists individuals in making EITC donations to approved nonprofits.

To apply, students were required to write essays and submit a teacher recommendation.