First paragraph courtesy of Cynthia Berger's blog from Engineering is Elementary, an award winning program developed by the Museum of Science, Boston. The darling image of young engineers is courtesy of the New York City's Department of Design and Construction. “Building for You.” That’s the slogan of New York City’s Department of Design and Construction, which builds the civic facilities city dwellers use every day, from cultural institutions to police precincts to roads, sidewalks, and sewer systems. The agency employs hundreds of engineers, and city officials are thinking ahead to the next generation; recently, DDC launched the “Young Engineers” program with the goal of inspiring students to consider careers in the built environment. At the center of this initiative is a middle-school afterschool program that uses Engineering is Elementary’s “Engineering Everywhere” curriculum. This short video shows some of the exciting outcomes! What is STEM City doing?
FUSD has Engineering is Elementary curriculum in all ten of its elementary schools! STEM City has EiE kits available for loan to Out-of-School Time groups, including the two kits highlighted in the EiE blog that were used by the NYC DDC "Building for You" program. STEM City kits are available to Flagstaff schools and educational groups. See the resources we have available here.
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STEM doesn't stop on the weekends in STEM City! Saturday, April 2nd was busy for families taking kids to Home Depot for the kids workshop, and then they wore their orange aprons to Willow Bend Environmental Education Center for Science Saturday: Energy! NAU's Wind for Schools program was there to help kids make their own wind turbine, and to showcase their entry for the upcoming United States Department of Energy’s Collegiate Wind Competition. Kelly Paduchowski demonstrated Prometheus Solar's Plug n Play solar system, and Findlay Toyota shared the insides of the new Prius. Clockwise from top left: Kelly Paduchowski with Prometheus Solar has Rowen Mahoney use solar power to run electronics; NAU Senior mechanical engineering student Michael Wertz explains their wind turbine entry; Michael Jaramillo of Findlay Auto uses his truck-based grill to feed the crowd; and NAU's Wind for School group at Willow Bend. The next stop was the City of Flagstaff's Sustainability Program Fix-it Clinic at Local Works. Thank you to Local Works for donating the space and thanks to our wonderful fixers for donating their Saturday to help 70 community members with 88 broken items. We had an 80% fix rate! On Sunday, the Museum of Northern Arizona, showed "Navajo Math Circles", a film by George Csicsery about the Navajo Math Circles project. You can see a preview of the film here and learn more about this successful and unique math education project here that empowers students in math and in life! Did you miss these? Check the STEM Events Calendar to find local STEM happenings to attend! The next Kids Workshop at Home Depot will be Saturday, May 7th from 9-12 and they will be making birdhouses. You can register here.
The next Saturday Science Day at Willow Bend will be the same day from 9 am - 1 pm (show up anytime) and will have hands-on activities exploring the Rio de Flag! Superbowl of STEM The 3rd Annual Flagstaff Community STEM Celebration kicked off the week on Monday, March 7th at the NAU Skydome with almost every school, STEM business, government agency, and non-profit in Flagstaff! You can relive the excitement with Flg4TV's 2 minute video here! High-Altitude Balloon Launch On Wednesday, March 9th, Teacher Kaci Heins and 100 NPA 6th graders sent their payload to over 106,000 feet on a high-altitude balloon from the Flagstaff Airport. Community Leader Bruce Sidlinger and his Aeronautics Engineering class from Flag High, Airport Director Barney Helmick, the Coconino Amateur Radio Club, the Civil Air Patrol, and many other community partners were there to assist. You can see images and hear the story from KNAU's science and technology field reporter Melissa Sevigny here. Women Executives in STEM Panel NAU hosted the panel on Thursday, March 10th. All of the women had connections to NAU and facilitator Elizabeth Glass recommended that the many students in attendance use their alumni network as they search career opportunities. AZ North Regional The Skydome was brimming again on Friday and Saturday with the CocoNuts and 52 other teams, for NAU's inaugural FIRST Robotics Arizona North Regional contest, which pitted robots against each other to try to take down a castle. You can read Corina Vanek's article on the event here. Microchip sponsored pit tours by volunteers from many of the teams, as well as a VIP luncheon that was well-attended by Flagstaff's government, business, and education leaders. FIRST, which stands for --- , is a non-profit founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway. It encourages students to pursue STEM and also develops skills in teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, and gracious professionalism. Congratulations to everyone on helping make STEM Week 2016 the best ever in Flagstaff STEM City!
STEM City Coordinator Mindy Bell took Swedish science museum educator Kajsa Berg on a tour to some of STEM City's (aka Flagstaff's) STEM education sites. Kajsa is visiting as half of an exchange established by the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce. 6th grade science teacher Kaci Heins, from Northland Preparatory Academy, is the American half. You can read more about the goals of the exchange at their blog. We began the tour at Sinagua Middle School. Teachers Gretchen Downey, Carrie Jenkins, Jenna Samora, Kathryn Wertz, and Jillian Worssam showcased student-centered learning in engineering musical instruments with recycled materials, plate tectonics with graham crackers, coding at your own pace, creating models of human systems, and doing investigations with dry ice respectively!
Flagstaff Junior Academy is in the ol' Flagstaff Middle School building by the pond. We visited science and math teachers Elii Chapman, Todd Saunders, and Heather Berginc. Kajsa was taken by the open format of the middle school, popular at the time the school was built!
We had a great time touring STEM City! If you want to know more about great STEM sites to visit in STEM City, please contact the STEM Coordinator.
Marsha Reynolds, 5th grade teacher, and Jessica Soifer, Art teacher, have partnered for an after school 5th grade STEAM Club that has students engaged in numerous projects. Marsha borrowed Flagstaff STEM City's Engineering Adventures Kit on Rockets and Rovers called "Lift Off". Note: Look here if you are also interested in borrowing an engineering kit! Marsha Reynolds writes: "Both Mrs. Soifer and I have been privileged to help lead the 5th grade STEAM club at Knoles Elementary. We enjoy working with a dedicated group of students who are interested in science, art, engineering and technology and on top of that, are willing to stay after school once a week for the activities we provide. These students are creative, and do a wonderful job of persevering through the projects that we introduce." These dedicated teachers also bring in other professionals. Tenielle Gaither, from the USGS Astrogeology Center, observed students building their rovers. And Jeff Jones, the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Coconino Community College, brought in a 3D Printer and students learned how to use the printer to create something original. Jessica Soifer writes: "The motivation behind STEAM club is our dedicated students. The students show up once a week after school with eyes wide open and execute the daily projects. We have designed our lessons to ensure the students are exploring a range of content among Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. The students explore through experiential learning, discover new ideas and designs, while problem solving, working collaboratively, and having fun. Marsha Reynolds and I work well together. We each have different strengths that compliment each other to bring success to the STEAM club. We collaborate and provide an easy going vibe and flexibility to facilitate a fun and exciting learning environment for all students."
Congratulations to this successful collaboration that has so many students happily engaged in such a variety of projects in their after school STEAM Club! Guest Blog by Christine Sapio On November 17, 2015, 70 students from Coconino High School competed in the Annual Great Cardboard Boat Race. The students were members of the Coconino Institute of Technology program and the Advanced Placement Physics class. The annual race between AP Physics and the CIT II Engineering students has been a tradition since the beginning of the CIT program with the first race taking place in 2003. Students build boats large enough to hold two people out of nothing but cardboard and duct tape. The boats are limited to a weight of 40 lbs, and the tape could only be used on the seams. Students then calculate the waterline on the boat when fully loaded with two people and placed in the water by using principles of buoyancy. Students then paddle their boats across a full-sized pool using whitewater paddles. The best overall boat at the Great Cardboard Boat Race is judged based on a number of criteria, including the time it takes to paddle the boat one full lap (50 meters), if the boat could survive three full laps (150 m), how much weight the boat held if it survived 150 meters, and the weight of the boat. A number of awards were also judged based on performance, including team spirit, most innovative design, and best “Titanic” moment or best sinking. The winners of the 2015 Great Cardboard Boat Race are:
Most Spirit Hallie Chiaverini & Tayler Dominguez (Santa’s Sleigh) - CIT Jack Lutch & Tyler Darnell (Ark II) - AP Physics Most Creative Design Aster Rich & Jessica Han - AP Physics Shandiin Miller & Meredith Norine - CIT Best Titanic (Most Dramatic Sinking) Richard McCormick & Coby Guerrero - CIT Drew Stringer & Kelsey Chiaverini - AP Physics Golden Oars (Fastest 50 m) Tristen Eddie & Matt Norris - 66 seconds/50 m - AP Physics Ferry Award (Most Weight Supported) Aaron Helwig, Ian Russell & Justin Heath – 1370 lbs - AP Physics Black Pearl Award (Best Boat Overall) Luke Peterson & Spencer Larson - 54 secs/50 m, 1619 lbs - CIT Congratulations to all! Gretchen Downey, 8th grade MITe (Middle School Institute of Technology and Engineering) teacher at Sinagua Middle School, took her engineering students on a field trip to Coconino Community College on Friday, October 23rd. The field trip was funded by the SFAz+8 grant which funds 8th grade students from Mt. Elden Middle School and Sinagua Middle School to explore engineering pathways in higher education and businesses. Addison Guevara, NAU student and STEM City Intern, assisted with organizing and leading the trip. Philip Martinez, the engineering, math, and physics instructor at CCC, organized the events at the college. Students were divided into three groups that rotated through two engineering challenges and a tour of the college. Mike Luna led the tours with Kevin Mullins informing the students about dual enrollment and CAVIAT programs available to them in high school. Christine Baze, science instructor at CCC, led one of the engineering activities, while Philip led the other one. Students had a great time building and testing a crane and a balloon rocket! Thank you to Flagstaff's Ross Dress for Less for providing shoe boxes for the Build-A-Crane activity showcased below!
The CocoNuts FRC Robotics Team from Coconino High School was challenged by NAU professor and SETI cave biologist/ecologist Jut Wynne to design and prototype a robot to explore caves on Mars. The students presented their solution, CRAWDAD (CocoNuts Robotics All-terrain Walking and Driving Articulating Device) at the 2nd International Planetary Caves Conference at Lowell Observatory on Thursday, October 22nd. The CocoNuts completed background research, met with experts from the US Geological Survey, and took a trip to the Flagstaff Lava Caves before settling on a hybrid design between a climbing robot and the Curiosity Drive Train. The CocoNuts submitted their scientific abstract to the conference committee and were accepted to present at the conference. The CocoNuts presented their design and 3D drawings of their concept to the audience 0f professors and students from several universities, including NAU, Carnegie Mellon, and the Colorado School of Mines, as well as engineers from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The presentation was well received, and the presenters were able to answer the many questions asked during their Q&A, including a question from a JPL engineer who asked, "When do you think it will be ready?" The CocoNuts coaches and entire Flagstaff STEM community are proud of these young engineers. Congratulations to the presentation team of Drew Stringer, Luke Peterson, and Carson Nablo. Thank you to Christine Sapio and Dave Thompson, CocoNuts Super Coaches, who provided the information and photos for this post.
Jim Tuck and Phred Salazar are STEAMing ahead with an after school model train club at Sechrist Elementary School. Ten 4th and 5th grade students are learning science, technology, engineering, art, and math as they build their model trains. Using the T-Trak system (www.ttrak.org) each student builds their own module that then connects with the other modules to create an interconnected railroad system.
The students will exhibit their trains at the Flagstaff Community STEM Celebration in the spring at the NAU dome, and also for Youth Day at the Flagstaff Mall.
Thank you to Phred and Jim for bringing STEAM to students through model trains! Guest Blog by Laura Huenneke
As the road signs declare, Flagstaff identifies itself as America’s 1st STEM Community. The proclamation grew out of the realization that we are not just a university town but also home to many research and scientific organizations (governmental, educational, and private industry). What does it mean to be a STEM community, and what vision of the future does it describe? People often think of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as pushing students into technical and health fields. A natural reaction is to counter with cries for STEAM (incorporating arts education into the program) or for other professional training opportunities. The arts and social sciences are certainly invaluable for insights into innovative and effective community development. So why do we continue to talk about STEM City? It’s worth thinking about the goal. Recently I was fortunate to hear Rush Holt, Jr. speak to a scientific audience. Holt is a former congressional representative from New Jersey, and is now CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He recalled the impact of Sputnik and the subsequent national push for more advanced science and engineering in the 1950s and 60s. Many STEM professionals look back to this era, when major national investments were made in science research and in training undergraduate and graduate students in what are now termed STEM fields. (Note, the term “STEM” came about in the 1990s as a shorthand for discussing these fields at the National Science Foundation.) But Holt pointed out this is also when we started thinking of science and engineering as something that the “best and brightest” should be pursuing; the rest of us ‘normal people’ might sit back and watch. He highlighted how this has led to today’s attitude that math and science are difficult subjects, that our political leaders scurry to claim “I am not a scientist,” and that our society more generally has lost our “reverence for evidence.” He linked this loss of general appreciation for scientific work and evidence-based decision-making to a wide range of current policy debates, from the benefits of vaccination to the denials of biological evolution and of climate science. STEM City is really a vision that all of our citizens can reclaim the respect for evidence and for science as a process of inquiry and observation-based reasoning. Yes, we want all our students to have the opportunity to pursue professional careers in STEM, and we want our community to continue to host thriving science and research organizations. But ultimately the STEM community vision is even broader than those worthwhile ideas – something that enriches and empowers all citizens. Guest Blog Post for STEM City and Special to the Arizona Daily Sun by Laura Huenneke, PhD Environmental Sciences. Laura also serves on the STEM City Executive Committee. |