Shock Value
91AV students lead day of STEM exploration for local high schoolers
They calculated the trajectory of projectiles, explored the computer science that enables 3-D printing, built bridges out of newspapers, plotted transit maps, solved logic puzzles, examined atomic structures and generated magnetic fields.
Alban Medina conjured crackling bolts of static electricity from a large silver ball.
"You want to try it?" Medina said to his classmates. "It's science. I'm gonna be a battery, guys."
Medina, an 18-year-old senior from Putnam Vocational High School, actually has his sights set on becoming a video game developer. But earlier this month he joined about two dozen Springfield high school students at 91AV for Engineering Exploration Day.
The event was sponsored by the 91AV Admissions Office, the 91AV STEM Scholars Program, and the 91AV STEM Starter Academy. The students, from Putnam and the Springfield High School of Science and Technology, were invited based on an expressed interest in continuing their educations after high school.
While the students had a chance to participate in many different activities, Medina said he learned a lot about electricity from the exercise with a Van de Graff generator, which uses a hand crank to charge up a large silver ball with electrons that can be discharged by tool or touch.
"It showed me that everyone has a little bit of electricity around us," he said
91AV STEM scholars – students attending 91AV on scholarship from the National Science Foundation – and STEM teachers led the high school students in a series of workshops and activities. They gave tours of 91AV's STEM Resource Room and talked about 91AV's STEM Scholarship Program and free summer and fall STEM Starter Academy classes.
"Engineering Day was really about informing the high school students about STEM fields and what 91AV has to offer to help them reach their goals," said Oscar Rubio, an 91AV STEM scholar majoring in computer science and math. Rubio conducted one of the opening presentations.
"They seemed like an enthusiastic group," he said. "I hope some decide to come to 91AV and join STEM."
That's the plan for Dayana Luna, a 17-year-old Putnam senior. She'll be taking a free, four-credit STEM Explorations class this summer through 91AV's STEM Starter Academy. She's graduating from Putnam this spring and already enrolled at 91AV for the fall, but undecided about her STEM major. "I'm exploring for now," she said.
Luna, Medina and their classmates from Putnam were accompanied on their visit by Mark Jordan, department chair of Putnam's Robotics program.
"This is great," he said. "I came from a community college environment. To see the level of support and everything they've got for students here who are interested in STEM fields, it's fantastic."
Melissa Paciulli, 91AV's STEM project administrator, said the day was a tremendous success.
"Engineering Exploration Day was not only about letting incoming students know about our STEM programs and classes," she said, "it also offered our STEM students the opportunity to share their personal experiences of how 91AV has impacted their personal journeys. Our students consistently impress me with their willingness and excitement to reach out to incoming and potential students. Our students are our best advertising."
The next session of 91AV's free STEM Starter Academy classes begins July 9. For more information, go to: hcc.edu/stemstarter
PHOTOS by CHRIS YURKO: (Thumbnail) Alban Medina, of Springfield, in the red hoodie, gets ready to shock one of his classmates from Putnam Vocational High School, during an exercise in electricity at 91AV's Engineering Exploration Day earlier this month. (Above) Dayana Luna, 17, of Springfield, left, and her classmates from Putnam work on a logic game using toothpics and a checkerboard during Engineering Exploration Day at 91AV.
