9th Annual Science and Tech. Fair at Wilmington Middle School a Success

Engineers from  in Wilmington visited on Friday afternoon to conduct hands-on experiments in hopes of sparking students' interests in the ever-evolving world of technology.

Retired engineer Chuck Kitchin volunteered to get the science and technology fair underway nine years ago, and it has been a successful and important part of the company, and the Wilmington school system, ever since. 

"It’s a lot of work, but it's fun and exciting," said Kitchin.  "But mostly it’s very rewarding in a way that’s difficult to explain."

Seventh graders got to dabble with melting wires, soldering, magnetism, a vaporizing machine, making sparks, integrated circuits, and more with the help of trained engineers.

Wilmington Town Manager Michael Caira stopped by to see the action, and had nothing but positive things to say about Analog's community outreach program.

"This is a great demonstration of the commitment that Analog has to the community at large," said Caira. "They have always been a wonderful neighbor and a very, very good business to work with."

Caira also has high hopes of integrating the same kind of technology labs if Wilmington ends up building a new high school, something that has been a hot topic among Wilmington residents for quite some time.

"It’s a gadget-happy country now," said Caira. "I think this is part of the 21st century learning environment that we’ve been talking about, particularly in regard to going forward with the new high school."

Most of the engineers agreed that it is important to introduce students at a young age to science and technology in order to be competitive in a world that becomes more technologically advanced each day. 

"I’m enrolled in another program that brings engineers and scientists into sixth grade classrooms because that’s really when kids kind of decide if they’re interested in math or science," said staff process engineer Megan O. Kromer. 

Retired engineer Doug Mercer said that although mechanical engineering students are on the rise, there has been a decrease in those studying electrical engineering - something he would like to encourage more interest in. 

“I volunteer to develop new methods of teaching students in grades K-12 to get them interested in engineering, particularly to produce electrical engineers," said Mercer. "If the United States can’t be competitive in teaching students technology we’re going to fall behind other countries."

Seventh grader Kevin Cox was one of the students who really took a liking to the fair, and has already shown interest in hobbies involving technology. 

"I was interested in graphic design, like graphing on a computer, or doing something with radios," said Cox.