In honor of Independence Day, the New York Times has a fascinating article on blowing shit up. Or rather, a University of Missouri summer camp that lets high school kids blow shit up in hopes of recruiting them to the School of Engineering. The article explains that other programs have quieter, gentler summer recruitment camps where attendees get to see cadavers or visit lakes to examine biological specimens.

But do those programs, whatever their merits, let the participants blow things up? No, they do not. Imelda Reyes of Kansas City, Mo., a 16-year-old, said she considered attending a more conventional summer program, but, she said, “Watching stuff blow up is better than summer school.”

Someone get this girl to Iraq.

A Summer Camp Where Fireworks Are the Point [New York Times]