HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A local bank is providing scholarships to sixth grade students who want to attend summer camp at the Cosmosphere.

Citizens Bank of Kansas will also increase the number of scholarships to eight following CBK’s acquisition of Verus Bank earlier this year. This is the fourth year CBK has offered the scholarships.

Scholarship winners will attend the Cosmosphere’s Mars Academy camp. During the three-day overnight camp, students will build robotic sensor platforms to navigate a Martian landscape, construct a power grid, engineer and program robots to find their survival needs, and build a Martian habitat.

To be eligible, students must be entering sixth grade in the fall of 2019 and submit a 100 to 200 word original essay on “Why I want to attend Cosmosphere camp this summer.” Parental consent is required and essay entries are due April 26. Those interested should email: essays@cbok.com to request a copy of the contest rules and an entry form.