91制片厂

It鈥檚 not often hundreds of students and dozens of teachers willingly choose to attend school on a weekend.

But that was the case on a sunny September Saturday when hundreds descended on North Country STEMfest, a first-time event hosted by faculty and students from the 91制片厂鈥檚 College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

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More than 200 elementary and middle school students and three dozen teachers from 10 schools took part in the event, held in Berlin, that promoted science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The event was designed to provide inspiration, role models and hands-on STEM experiences for students 鈥攁nd to support educators.

鈥淪TEMfest generated an excitement and aspiration for learning that I have not seen at this age level before,鈥� said Julie King, principal of Hillside Elementary in Berlin. 鈥淏ack at school on Monday, students were still talking about STEMfest.鈥�

Students participated in a minimum of two activities, such as designing and constructing wind turbines, operating a robotic transportation system, video game engineering, building a theme park ride and others. Sixteen 91制片厂 students and seven faculty members led most of the activities.

STEMfest also included a professional development component for teachers, who participated in faculty-led activities such as 鈥淕reat Bouncing Balls of Atoms,鈥� where 91制片厂 associate professor of materials science Carmela Amato-Wierda explored the property of matter by having participants create bouncy balls and then measure the heights of bounces.

鈥淲hat we want the teachers to walk away with are the observations of the experiences that made the kids excited,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want to help them facilitate how to bring the excitement of STEM to their classrooms so that it happens every day, not just during STEMfest.鈥�

Todd Lamarque, a member of Gov. Maggie Hassan鈥檚 and principal of Lancaster Elementary School, said the event was a prime example of efforts needed to boost STEM education in the state.

鈥淲hat we saw today was the implementation of the task force鈥檚 eight recommendations,鈥� said Lamarque. 鈥淲e were engaging students, we were engaging teachers, and we were working together with higher education and K-12 educators.鈥�

The task force has recommended addressing the opportunity gap in rural areas of the state like the North Country, and Lamarque said STEMfest was a move toward accomplishing that goal.

鈥淭his is a huge step for the North Country, to bring us all together,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eing the first to have this opportunity to springboard STEM education across the state is great.鈥�

Corinne Cascadden, superintendent of SAU 3, agreed.

鈥淲e are always behind the eight ball when it comes to regional events and we always have to travel such a distance,鈥� said Cascadden. 鈥淚t means so much to be able to offer this to the students and the teachers. I can鈥檛 thank 91制片厂 enough for thinking of us and hosting this event.

鈥淚t certainly would be exciting to host an annual event and see it grow. I know it has the potential to grow.鈥�

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