EDUCATION

James Buchanan Middle students explore STEM

Staff reports
The Herald-Mail

MONT ALTO, Pa. — James Buchanan Middle School eighth-grader Kirstyn Atherton could not imagine using the words fun and mathematics in the same sentence.

But Kira Hamman, assistant teaching professor in mathematics at Penn State Mont Alto, changed that when 40 James Buchanan Middle students visited the college campus May 16 for STEM exploration.

Hamman’s encryption session kept the students guessing as they used concepts of math to create secret codes.

“I liked the math because it was the most challenging,” Kirstyn said. “Kira (Hamman) made it fun working with numbers to create ‘secret words’ that our classmates had to figure out.”

This was the fourth year that seventh- and eighth-grade students from JBMS visited Penn State Mont Alto for a daylong STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) experience.

“This annual field trip is a wonderful opportunity to spend a day immersed in fun, educational STEM activities taught by Penn State faculty,” said Robert Wareham, JBMS STEM teacher.

In addition to math, students used engineering principles to design and build a freestanding tower using paper clips and straws; turned a copper penny into silver and then gold — actually brass — using chemistry; and learned about the process of fermentation from biology faculty.

Tuscarora School District Curriculum Director Richard Burkett, who was one of the chaperones for the trip, said the Pennsylvania Department of Education has placed a significant emphasis on STEM education.

In the next decade, seven out of 10 jobs in Pennsylvania are going to require workers to use computers and new technologies, according to Gov. Tom Wolf.

“Visiting Penn State Mont Alto gave the students a collegiate experience. What a great opportunity for kids to hear directly from college professors,” Burkett said. “Our kids were treated like VIPs in their learning experience. The students get to see people who are professionals in the (STEM) field who are excited about that field.”

The day at Penn State helped reinforce and affirm what the students are being taught in school, he said.

Eighth-grader Natalie Lippy liked the hands-on element best.

“I’ve enjoyed everything. I came last year, but I really wanted to come back because I learned so much the first time by doing things by myself,” Lippy said.

Penn State Mont Alto will hold its annual STEM camp from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, July 9, to Friday, July 13. Penn State faculty will lead classes on drone flying, robotics, chemistry, astronomy, computers and more.

In addition, campers will take field trips to the Pennsylvania Research and Teaching Laboratory for Biofuels at Penn State Harrisburg to learn about high-tech DNA-profiling techniques. They will also travel to Manitowoc in Shady Grove, Pa., to learn about engineering from the company’s engineers.

To register, go to montalto.psu.edu/stemcamp.

Submitted photoJames Buchanan Middle School student Sydney Fleming uses chemistry to turn a copper penny into silver and then gold — actually brass — during STEM day at Penn State Mont Alto.