Schools
Barnstable Students Selected to Show Off Science and Technology Acumen
Thirty of the town's brightest 7th and 8th graders were picked to head off-Cape this week to learn more.
At a time when our nation is increasingly concerned with the quality of education in public schools, Barnstable continues to push forward in striving for excellence in some of the most historically difficult subjects.
Subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
As part of the Southeastern Massachusetts STEM Education Network (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), Barnstable has selected 30 students from the Barnstable Intermediate School (7th grade) and Barnstable High School (8th grade) to head off-Cape to Bridgewater State University on Thursday, May 24 to participate in the 2012 STEM Expo.
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Barnstable was just one of four Cape school systems selected to send students to the event, one in which some of the town's best and brightest will engage in problem solving, experiments, reveal projects they've been working on, participate in workshops and see demonstrations by scientists and exhibitors, as well as other students. Only 22 schools throughout the state were selected to participate.
All totalled, some 500 middle school students will meet with 100-plus STEM experts determined to get the kids excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers and education pathways.
Find out what's happening in Barnstable-Hyannisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Twenty-seven school districts from Canton to the Cape are participating as presenters or attending as members of Student Teacher Groups or School District Community Teams. School districts include Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Canton, Dartmouth, Dennis/Yarmouth, Fall River, Foxborough, Freetown/Lakeville, Hanover, Mansfield, New Bedford, North Attleboro, Norton, Old Rochester, Pembroke, Plainville, Plymouth, Provincetown, Sandwich, Sharon, Taunton, Whitman/Hanson, Weymouth, Westport and Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School and Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School.
Schools will attend in two tracks: teams of 30 students and three adults will participate in workshops, demos, and other hands-on activities such as identifying native turtles, cleaning up a mock oil spill, driving underwater robots, building a winning football team, and conducting a well-baby check-up.
In addition, School District Community Teams of 10 educators and community members will evaluate the Expo as a way of growing their own school district STEM initiatives. Massachusetts Education Secretary Paul Reville will welcome these School District Team and speak about the commonwealth’s investment in STEM education at 10:30 a.m. in the Moakley Center Auditorium.
Among the 60 exhibitors are companies, schools, colleges, and community resources including Verizon, HarborOne Credit Union, The Massachusetts Air & Space Museum, the Hall at Patriot Place, and Signature Healthcare-Brockton Hospital. Lockheed Martin Sippican is sponsoring refreshments.
The Southeastern Massachusetts STEM Network is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education STEM Pipeline Fund and administered by CONNECT, a partnership of the six public institutions of higher education in Southeastern Massachusetts.
Members of the Southeastern Massachusetts STEM Network include schools, employers, colleges and universities, museums, community leaders and others dedicated to raising student preparedness for and interest in technology-related careers.
For detailed information on exhibitors, workshops, and schedules, visit the STEM EXPO WEBSITE at http://www.connectsemass.org/stem/stemexpo.html.
