Aidan wanted to try something new this summer.  We found some great week long camps at the Museum of Science.  So we decided to try one out- creating your own video game.

Minecraft has been Aidan’s big thing since getting his laptop for his birthday.  He loves to build things and is really proud of what he can make.  During his week of science camp he was super enthusiastic every day.  He couldn’t wait to see what was in store and eagerly looked forward to showing us the game he created.

A few things stood out for me though- there were no female instructors.  Four men- two staff from the company running the camp and two MIT college students staffed the week.  There were twelve students (it was limited and “sold out” in April!).  Of the twelve students only two were girls.  When it was time for the students to present, one of the girls had asked in advance for the instructor to demo her game while she showed it off on the projector (the reverse of all the other students).

I know how much Aidan loved the camp and he really wants to do something like this again.  It was my first experience seeing the effects of girls and STEM camps.  It made me realize how important supporting girls in STEM fields are and making sure my boys know how valued everyone is in whatever field they choose.

Sigh.  He’s getting old.

In a span of 48 hours Aidan told me how he “chipped in” with some other yacht club kids to order pizza, emailed his BFF to say he was excited to go with her and her family to Six Flags, went to the Yacht Club dance and started watching Dr. Who.

In the weeks since, he has gone bike riding across the street and crossed himself, made plans with friends and helped Nana program her phone (while talking about a friend having an iTouch).

It’s nice to see his independence and watch him grow.  He is certainly not a little boy anymore.  But it almost seems like overnight- or maybe its the sun and water at the yacht club this summer- that he is so much older. He’s becoming a silly, goofy, dorky fun kid you can have a good time with.  He does forget to put sunscreen on though.  And it is hard to get him Minecraft.  The teenage years are fast approaching.

Aidan is looking forward to next week when he will be going to the Museum of Science for a camp to design video games.  He has a friend who went and said its great but Aidan didn’t want details so as to not spoil the excitement.

Ready or not, fourth grade here he comes.  Sigh.