Beaufort Academy (BA) has announced the dates of its upcoming “Camp Make and Take.” This camp is being partially funded by a grant from the Beaufort Youth Initiative, and will be at no cost to participants. BA was awarded these funds in a stiff competition among local organizations that wanted to offer intellectually stimulating programs to teenagers in northern Beaufort County. The grant process was organized by the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Beaufort County. BA sent three of its own teenage students to participate in the grant review board that evaluated all of the grant applications.

“This was an outstanding opportunity for BA students to contribute their diverse ideas to the evaluation process,” said Rebecca W. Bass, Beaufort Academy’s Director of Development and Alumni Relations. “The feedback we received from the Boys &amp; Girls Club is that all of our students are welcome to return to participate on the review board next year.”

The grant funds were used to purchase a 3D printer. Despite the somewhat misleading name “printer”, such devices do not really print in the sense we think of it today. Rather, with a 3D printer, it is possible to design an object in three dimensions with software on a computer and then make it a reality by producing it on the 3D “printer.”

Gina Reilly, BA’s Library Director and Technology Instructor, enthused, “The only limit to what can be produced with a 3D printer is the student’s imagination. The hands-on experiences the students will have here could inspire them to contemplate a career in design or engineering.” Students will have the opportunity to explore 3D design software such as Sketchup and Cubify and then create their prototypes in plastic using the 3D printer.

There will be four one-week sessions of Camp Make and Take offered. The dates for the first two sessions are: May 13-17 and May 20-24. The camp will meet in the Beaufort Academy Library from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Camp Make and Take is open to ALL Northern Beaufort County teens and is free to attend. Dates will be announced soon for two more sessions this summer. Classes are limited to fifteen students. Registration forms are available on the school website www.beaufortacademy.org.

For more details, contact Rebecca W. Bass, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, at Beaufort Academy at rbass@beaufortacademy.org or call 843-524-3393.