It's no secret that careers in science, technology, engineering and math are the jobs of the future. But STEM programs are mostly on the high school level.

Jim Thorpe Area School District is giving younger students a chance to get exposed to STEM education while having fun and seeing their friends over the summer.The district held Camp Invention, a camp offered in schools around the country this week. Students did projects using skills for future careers, including electronics, computer coding, as well as traditional science subjects like biology and geology."It's everything, that I can tell is going to be in the (STEM) curriculum, just down to their age - so it's kind of building excitement for what's to come," said Brandon Knapp, a math teacher who coordinated the camp.Students entering second through sixth grades, either in the school district or at St. Joseph's Regional Academy, were invited to attend the camp. Students said that they had a chance to see friends that they wouldn't have during the summer."I want to do science as a special," second-grader Aidden Platel said. "I see a few of my friends here. I made new friends, too."They constructed a crick-o-bot, a solar-powered robot which dances across a flat surface when put under a flashlight. Older students were disassembling electronics.Knapp and Katherine Doll, the district's coordinator of academic resources, researched the program last year and got the school board's approval to bring it to the district this summer. Doll said that she's been surprised about how the young students have collaborated on group work, something she said can even be difficult for much older students."It's something different for these kids. They're not used to working as a cohesive team at such a young age," she said.She said a few dozen students attended camp this year, but based on the reaction from students and parents there could be more in 2017. That bodes well as the district prepares to introduce two STEM classes at the high school level, and one for seventh-graders."Parents have been coming in when they drop them off saying their kid's had a great day, and they can't wait to get back the next day. Kids are going home tired!" she said.Helping the students throughout the process were volunteers from Jim Thorpe High School. Drea Buczeskie, who said she plans to take STEM classes during her senior year at Jim Thorpe, said that they were impressed by the knowledge of the young students."Throughout the games it's like they're having fun, because they are, but they do learn a lot," Buczeskie said.