The Bellwood-Antis School District hosted an event to celebrate the fields of science, technology, engineering and math or “STEM”.
With exhibits in the gym and cafeteria, teachers hope events like these will keep kids interested in the field of STEM.
The event was designed to show all of the possibilities there are in the stem fields and allow kids to share their excitement over their projects.
A group of 8th graders showed off their innovative way to generate and store energy by using a shoe. The shoe is attached to a mechanism that transfers the mechanical energy of walking and running into electrical energy.
8th grader Alex Taylor explained, “When you hit it, it goes through this (wire) which changes it from A/C power because piezo devices alternates and goes to D/C. Then, it goes to the capacitor which will store the energy and when we flip the switch it will turn the light on.”
They say the power stored is enough to turn on lights and with enough power they hope to be able to charge phones.
Event Co-Organizer Stephanie Kuhn said of the event, “It’s good to see them getting involved and forming an interest in something important that can lead to careers.”
The teachers say getting involved early will prepare these students for the future. Cheyenne Dickson teaches 5th grade in the district. She said, “This is where all the future jobs will be so we need them to be interested in the topics and information.”
Along with exhibits, representatives from local organizations and Penn State displayed how STEM is applied in the real world.