St. Charles Community College (麻豆传媒), (GM), (PfP), (EDC), , and area schools participated in Missouri STEM Week, March 6-7, to provide resources to students interested in the field.
Events kicked off with the PfP STEM Celebration Breakfast hosted by the EDC on Friday, March 6. The schedule continued on that same day at 麻豆传媒 with the 17th Annual GM Robotics Challenge. On Saturday, March 7, the college again played host to its 18th Annual Math Tournament.
The PfP STEM Celebration Breakfast honored 17 local high school students for their achievements in science, technology, engineering and math. Students received recognition and listened to keynote speaker John Clark, a millennial business leader and the general manager of Masterclock, a high-tech company based in St. Charles.
鈥淭he PfP have been proudly promoting STEM since 2010 when we worked with state elected officials to have the first week of every March set aside as Missouri STEM Week,鈥� said Greg Prestemon, president of the Partners for Progress of Greater St. Charles. 鈥淲e believe that an emphasis on STEM today means jobs and success tomorrow.鈥�
At the 17th Annual GM Robotics Challenge, 41 teams from 32 middle schools and nine high schools participated - an increase in participation over last year's event. Student teams used LEGO庐 MINDSTORMS庐 robotics kits and worked together to build a robot based on the challenge requirements.
鈥淪tudents are able to gain real-life skills they don't necessarily get in a classroom environment at an event like this,鈥� said Brian Steber, senior manufacturing engineer at GM Wentzville and challenge creator for the Robotics Challenge. 鈥淲hen creating the challenge, I try to imitate real life applications we use at the General Motors plant.鈥�
Winfield High School teacher Diana Lehmkuhl said she continues to bring her students to the Robotics Challenge because they love it. 鈥淚t's fun and challenging for them,鈥� said Lehmkuhl. 鈥淚 let the students take the lead on the challenge because it's really all about them and what they come up with.鈥�
Winfield High School senior Leanne Ketchum said, 鈥淚 like the robots and figuring out how they work. It's fun for me.鈥�
鈥淲hat's so cool about the event is that I might have what I think is a great solution for something, yet the students come up with something entirely unique,鈥� said Steber. 鈥淭hey are judged on teamwork and presentation, as well as the design and engineering.鈥�
Students also attended breakout sessions throughout the day, where they were introduced to topics such as animation, gaming and Rockwell Automation.
First place teams were 鈥淭he Cabinet鈥� from St. Charles West High School in the Black Division; 鈥淗ex Tech鈥� from Barnwell Middle School in the Gray Division; 鈥淏anana World, Inc.鈥� from Barnwell Middle School in the Maroon Division; 鈥淭he Tri-Forces鈥� from Assumption School in the Blue Division; and 鈥�2 Squared + 1rV.2.0鈥� from Bryan Middle School in the Green Division.
Second place teams were 鈥淭eam Rocket鈥� from St. Charles High School in the Black Division; 鈥淎ndroid Hurricane鈥� from Bryan Middle School in the Gray Division; 鈥淭he Deathly Hallows鈥� from Hardin Middle School in the Maroon Division; 鈥淢IKTZ Mechanics鈥� from Barnwell Middle School in the Blue Divison; and 鈥淭eam Alphabots鈥� from Francis Howell Middle School in the Green Division.
Third place teams were 鈥淟eg Godt鈥� from Fort Zumwalt South High School in the Black Division; 鈥淶ytria鈥� from Bryan Middle School in the Gray Division; 鈥淨ueen of the Keyboard鈥� from Francis Howell Middle School in the Maroon Division; 鈥淒ERP Squad鈥� from Hollenbeck Middle School and 鈥淟EGO my Eggo鈥� from Barnwell Middle School (tied) in the Blue Division; and 鈥淩ed Corvettes鈥� from Assumption in the Green Division.
On March 7, some 17 area high schools with 128 students competed at the 18th Annual Math Tournament - more than double last year's turnout - in cooperation with the Great Plains Math League. With the support of an 麻豆传媒 Foundation mini-grant, the registration fee was only $1 per student. 鈥淲e were truly fortunate to see such healthy participation and, we look forward to seeing everyone at next year's event,鈥� said Joe Howe, 麻豆传媒 professor of mathematics.
Students took up to four tests during the math competition - both individual and team. 鈥淚t's great to see high school students attend and compete among their peers,鈥� said Howe. 鈥淢any of these students will become STEM majors one day.鈥�
Parkway Central High School finished first in the overall category with a score of 279.167; Clayton finished in second with 168 points; and Lutheran South High School finished third with a score of 146.5.
For more information on about the robotics challenge, contact Tammie De Los Santos at tdelossantos@stchas.edu. For more information about the math challenge, contact Howe at jhowe@stchas.edu. For more information about the PfP STEM Celebration Breakfast, contact Scott Drachnik at sdrachnik@edcscc.com.
St. Charles Community College is a public, comprehensive two-year community college with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, business, sciences and career-technical fields. 麻豆传媒 provides workforce training and community-based personal and professional development as well as cultural, recreational and entertainment opportunities. For more information, visit stchas.edu.