By: Meghan Thoreau, OSU Extension Educator
Our STEM Club focuses on developing a lifelong learning mindset that supports our youth in exploring exciting STEM careers and promoting an engaged life. The 21st Century Skillset is a cycle of applied learning, critical thinking, collaboration, and learning by doing. Our STEM Challenges build foundational literacy skills, competencies, and character qualities that are critical to our day-to-day lives, how youth look at complex challenges, and how youth deal with their changing environment while retaining a growth mindset of persistence and grit. Below is an image that highlights important life skills that students and parents can work towards attaining.
September’s STEM Club: Day 1
Wondering what a club day looks like? Here’s a quick video, STEM in action. Try to listen to the communication going on, productive chaos.
Make sure to like us on Facebook, OSU Extension posts STEM Club Albums for parents who want to stay engaged!
September focused on two hands-on electric circuit challenges. The first engages students in designing and building an LED Display (light emitting diode) to light up their initials. Students learn basic electrical design components, how to read an electrical schematic, how to interpret an engineering data sheet, how to design the circuit, and finally how to build a LED Display Board! OSU Professor, Betty Lise Anderson, of The OSU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering came down from campus each week to teach the electrical outreach activity she developed. Many thanks to her and her STEM team! Dr. Anderson is amazing and generous with her time, knowledge, and materials. To learn more about Dr. Anderson or the department click here. Below is an image of the LED Display and a sheet explaining how to read the pin connection table, and understanding an electric schematic and basic electrical symbology. Each student determines which of the 16 segments of the LED display they need to connect resisters in their bread board.
Mentorship Benefit
Our program benefits immensely not just by our STEM Educators and OSU Extension’s partnership, but by the high school mentors that come and make the difference in young people’s lives by offering stable relationships to support students’ academic and social development. Below one high school mentor, Summer, came to assist despite it being Homecoming week. She received a round of applause by our students as she walked into the classroom!
Teamwork
Below we have a short video that allows you to see first hand students building an LED Display, but also demonstrating team building skills – one elementary student takes a moment to help a fellow STEMist troubleshoot the correct wire connection. May seem small, but this is an extremely important skill for real world success.
September’s STEM Club: Day 2
Our second STEM challenge took the knowledge the students learned about electric schematics and circuits and applied it to building a LED flashlight (take home project). The challenge involved basic materials, an cardboard box, copper wire, a battery, a resister, and a LED (light omitting diode), but it also introduced a switch.
Inside the Flash Light
Future Engineers! O-H-I-O
October’s STEM Club will involved a little Chemistry in Action!