A one-day STEM-a-Thon was held on Saturday, November 15, at Centerville Elementary School in Virginia Beach. This fun-filled day was developed and ran by the STEM Education Alliance and coordinated by Operation PRIDE. The STEM-a-Thon hosted 25 military-connected fourth and fifth grade students from Centerville Elementary School.
The day was filled with engaging activities that revolved around electricity. These hands-on, minds-on activities included:
- Discovering, through guided inquiry and exploration, how to make series and parallel circuits using wires, bulbs, and batteries.
- Identifying insulators and conductors.
- Creating an electromagnet from a wire and nail.
- Building a working motor.
- Experimenting with Snap Circuits kits.
At the end of the day, parents were treated to a discussion on various STEM careers, followed by a poster presentation of the day’s activities by their children. Each participating child got to take home a Snap Circuits Jr. kit, and several large Snap Circuits kits were given to Centerville Elementary School for future use by their teachers.
A big thank you goes out to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for sending two engineers who did a great job of working with the students and sharing their expertise.
