Livermore Community Celebrates Science And Engineering Month

From LVJUSD: The Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD), along with Livermore community partners, celebrated its third Science and Engineering Month throughout February. Many Livermore students and community members participated in a variety of events held throughout the month.

On Thursday, March 1, Junction Avenue K-8 hosted the 16th annual Science Odyssey. Over 550 students participated from grades one to twelve. Families from around the District gathered to see their students’ projects and to explore hundreds of others, as well as to visit booths with community organizations demonstrating scientific concepts in a range of displays. Students put on a “Trashion” Show, donning outfits they had made of discarded wrappers, bags, bottles, and more.

New this year, thanks to a generous grant from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), students had the opportunity to submit an abstract summarizing their projects to be included in a printed and digital journal. Students could also submit computer science projects for the first time, thanks to LLNL’s Computations Directorate. Other special award categories, sponsored by community partners, were Technical Writing by LLNL and NASA Ames Technology Transfer Group, Engineering by Sandia National Laboratory, Solar Energy by SunWalker Energy, and Water Quality Management/Reduction of Water Pollution by the City of Livermore’s Water Resources Division.

Preceding the Science Odyssey event was a month packed with activities for curious minds. Each Saturday, a series of free lectures from LLNL science researchers were offered to middle and high school students at the Bankhead Theater. The theme of the lectures, which featured cutting-edge science at the Lab, was “Marvelous Machines.”

The Livermore Public Library offered numerous activities during its Livermore Reads Together program, with many related to science and technology, such as an Introduction to Google Earth and geocaching projects. The Civic Center Library also hosted Granada High School (GHS) senior Mannu Singhal’s e-NABLE Hand-a-Thon events in which middle school students built plastic prosthetic hands from pieces produced by GHS’s own 3D printer. The completed prosthetics were sent to children around the world, demonstrating the impact local science and engineering can have worldwide.

“The community recognition of, and support for, Science and Engineering Month continues to grow and is much appreciated,” said Regina Brinker, STEM Coordinator at LVJUSD. “Opportunities for students to learn and explore outside of the school setting show students the applications of science, engineering, and technology and encourage student inquisitiveness and creativity. I hope that these events light a spark for students to continue to study and become involved with science, engineering, computer science, and technology.”

Winners of this year’s Science Odyssey awards for Best in Show, Science Projects were Vibusri Karunamurthy of Croce Elementary; Amy Behlendorf, Kylie Rose, and Olivia Delsems of Smith Elementary; Adam King of East Avenue Middle School (EAMS); and Mecarena Novoa-Delfin of Livermore High School. Winners of Best in Show, Engineering were Evelyn Arroyo of Junction Avenue K-8, whose project also claimed the Solar Energy award; Jonathan Van Essen of Mendenhall Middle School (MMS); and Katarzyna McCoy, Kayla Steinhorst, and Samantha Yeo of Livermore High School (LHS). The Computer Science Special Award went to Ethan Kwan, Justin Lam, and Ryan Harwood of EAMS; and Alexis Trujillo, Christine Liu, and Sarah Zhang of GHS. The Technical Writing Award went to Siena Queirolo of MMS, and Zoe Richards and Jack VandenHeuvel of LHS. The Award for Water Quality went to Minhnha Kawamura and Annelyse Combitsis of EAMS, and Vishal Venkatesh of GHS.

Photos courtesy of LVJUSD and Livermore Granada Boosters