STEM Challenge at Northport HS Raises $10K for ALS Research

The second annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Challenge at Northport High School on Saturday was a huge success and raised approximatley $10,000 for ALS research.

The STEM Challenge, hosted by A Midwinter Night’s Dream Inc. (AMND) as part of the Team Packard initiative, was a one day, 4-hour team event that had students in grades 4-8 participating and competing in hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics tasks.

There were 22 teams (90 students) registered for the event representing the Northport-East Northport, Kings Park, West Babylon, and Hauppauge school districts, as well as The Long Island School for the Gifted. More than 30 Northport High School students and alumni were on hand to help run the event as part of the Team Packard and AMND extracurricular clubs.

Awards were given out to the top four teams in each of the challenges: Speed of a Bubble, Circuits in a Snap, Balloon Powered Vehicle, and Puzzling Problems. Additionally, a top fundraising award was given out to the team “Hauppauge Einsteins” for raising the most money for ALS Research - $1,550!

In total, the STEM Challenge raised $10,000 and all funds will be directed to the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University.

For inspiration and recognition of science and technology, Northport High School’s First Robotics Team 5099, the Cyberian Tigers, welcomed our STEM Challenge participants with a demonstration from their robot Kujo. Team 5099 and Kujo recently competed in the First Stronghold at Hofstra University achieving 3rd place. In addition to the robotics demonstration, Northport’s Information, Technology and Resource Teachers introduced coding stations to parents and students. Attendees engaged in coding activities by exploring the world of computer science, robotics, and programming.

The Team Packard initiative, a partnership between AMND and The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University, is a national program empowering students to raise money and awareness for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Team Packard events promote service learning and collaboration amongst students and school communities. In its second year, the program has 18 registered schools including colleges across the nation as well as Long Island primary and secondary schools. Additionally, this spring, nine different secondary and collegiate schools will host a lacrosse game titled, Lax out ALS, a fundraising event that will also benefit the Team Packard initiative.

Overall, the Challenge was an exciting day promoting both STEM education and philanthropy.

For more information about Team Packard and AMND, visit www.teampackard.org and www.amnd.org. The STEM Challenge was created and coordinated by Don Strasser, CEO of AMND Inc. and Director of Team Packard and Bryan Horan, Science Research Program Coordinator at Northport HS. A special thank you goes out to Mr. Robert Banzer, Superintendent of Northport Schools and to our presenting sponsor Blue Ocean Brokerage.

Story and photos courtesy of Syntax