Over 1200 interns have completed the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command's summer Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science program for 2012. The GEMS program provides learning opportunities for a broad range of applicants. It is based on a multi-disciplinary, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (also known as STEM) educational curriculum that intellectually and creatively challenge the GEMS interns as students or near-peer mentors. USAMRMC currently hosts GEMS programs at six different locations: USAISR in San Antonio, Texas, USAARL in Fort Rucker, Ala., USARIEM in Natick, Mass., USAMICD in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., WRAIR in Silver Spring, Md., and USAMRIID in Fort Detrick, Md.

Interns participate in the week-long Fort Detrick GEMS program at either Hood College in Frederick, Md., or Hagerstown (Md.) Community College. The participants work in state-of-the-art science laboratories in small groups being led by "Near-Peer Mentors." These mentors are college-level role models for the younger interns, encouraging them in the pursuit of STEM courses and study. The students at Hood and HCC had a great time solving crimes, working with DNA, exploring food sciences and conducting environmental experiments. They also were able to test out the principles of physics with a Van der Graff machine, building a Rube Goldberg, and constructing catapults. Additionally, student interns that participated in robotics and battlebots built robots from Legos and programmed them to make it through a GEMS obstacle course, follow a line, and do a group dance!

Please see the YouTube videos at www.youtube.com/usamrmc to get an idea of how much fun the students had while learning more about science, mathematics, and engineering.