A group of 40 Iowa 10th-graders are spending the week in Ames planning for life on Mars, as well as life on a college campus.

The students are participants in the Iowa State Early Outreach Program (EOP), a weeklong summer camp for minority students and ISU Educational Talent Search members.

EOP, which is in its third year at Iowa State, invites Iowa eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders to spend a week on campus taking classes, exploring careers and experiencing college life.

The portion of the program geared toward 10th-grade students began Sunday and runs until June 16.

This week’s theme, “Mars City Alpha,” has the students designing and constructing a miniature Mars habitat, and producing a live-television news report to be sent back to Earth.

Karen Webb, ISU College Bound program coordinator, said the students “have a blast” at the camp.

“They absolutely love the camp; they bond with students from all over the state … and literally start crying when they have to leave,” she said.

Paul Guidetti, the program’s science and math teacher, said EOP encourages the participants to learn by using fun techniques. .

“The kids don’t even know that they’re learning science; it just kind of sneaks up on them,” he said.

EOP academic activities encourage hands-on learning and are divided into math and science and language arts components.

In addition to their academic work, students also participate in personal growth and development sessions, computer workshops and recreational and team-building activities, Webb said.

Beverly Horn, the language arts component teacher, said she will be helping students in the program create a television newscast from Mars, advertise their own pizza and write editorials on the bioethics of DNA.

“We want them to have a good time on campus, challenge them, get their interest and encourage them that … all of them have some potential,” she said.

Horn said she thought the program was especially important for students who will be the first generation in their family to attend college.

“I was a first-generation college student, too. I know how important higher education is today, and I really want these kids to realize their potential,” she said.

Guidetti said he will have his students design and create greenhouses, aqua-culture facilities, water-treatment and air-filtration systems and research facilities for their habitat.

He said these activities show students that science “is not just for the white man wearing glasses and a white lab coat, that it could be for a girl, an African-American or an Hispanic-American.”

Lemarius and Gordy Wolder, 10th-grade brothers from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, are both returning for their third year in EOP.

Lemarius Wolder said he likes the camp because it helps him with his regular classes.

“It makes me want to go to college more,” he said, “and it’s fun.”

Gordy Wolder said the camp helps him with his math and reading skills, but his favorite part is “being away from home for a week,” he said with a grin.

EOP will offer similar weeklong experiences at Iowa State for ninth-graders, June 18 to 23, and eighth-graders, June 25 to 30.

Sponsors of the camp include the College Bound Program, the Department of Residence, Educational Talent Search, the LEAD Program, Minority Student Affairs and the Science Bound Program.