By Vedha Masuraha ’24
NEWS EDITOR
PHOTO BY TEJ PATEL
The high school hosted a STEM Night with DuPont on Feb. 9 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The event was open to all students and families of the community and gave kids a chance to hear directly from engineers and scientists in an abundance of different fields. This opportunity allowed kids to get an inside view of what it’s like to experience a career in STEM. Specifically, Dr. Alexa A. Dembek, Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer at DuPont, gave students a speech looking into her own personal experience in the field. A panel discussion was also included in the experience, coming from different specializations at DuPont. This science-filled night included Interactive Breakout Sessions: The DuPont Experience, Drone Challenges, VEX Robotics Challenges, Coding Activities, 3D Printing, Laser Engraving, UCF FTC Robotics Club, Technical College High School Information, Manufacturing and Automation Demo, Crime Scene Investigation, and Sphero Activities.
Heather Haitz, an organizer for forensics at STEM night said, “STEM night gives younger students in our district the opportunity to see what STEM programs are offered here at the high school,” she said. This night will hopefully be seen as a motivation to younger students, who can understand the importance of STEM-related careers. After the speech given by Dr. Alexa A. Dembrek about the advances being made in technology, students were introduced to a panel discussion where many esteemed professionals came and talked about their experiences, struggles, day-to-day schedules, and more.
“Hopefully this will motivate them to take advantage of the many great programs offered here at the high school and then to pursue a career in the ever-growing field of STEM,” Mrs. Haitz said.
The school hosted many different sessions with the intention of giving everyone an opportunity to physically engage with many different tools used in STEM career fields. The engineering students guided kids through how to fly a drone, move through a maze with a Sphero, 3D print, laser engrave a dog tag, and so much more.
Furthermore, STEM Night was a way to introduce the option of Technical College High School (TCHS) Information for older students as they begin to introduce high school. TCHS is a part-time career-focused educational program designed to allow students to understand the inner workings of a job, as well as an
opportunity to experience it for themselves.
In regards to the engineering department, many of the activities reflected the skills that they learn in class. For instance, students spent class time working on the sphero maze and claw bots. When presented to the younger students, the spheros and claw bots were a way for students to interact with everyday tools used throughout many of the high school STEM-related courses.
Through this event, students were exposed to the importance of STEM-related career fields.
Unionville Post 