More than 1,000 students from Brevard County and beyond came out to Florida Tech’s STEMPower Day on Saturday for a day of discovery, exploration and hands-on education. The community-wide program immersed K-12 students into the evolving and engaging world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
University students, faculty and local leaders representing some of the Space Coast’s top STEM employers hosted several engaging and interactive sessions. Presentations and hands-on science stations alike covered topics such as space, aviation, engineering, psychology, cybersecurity, biology, earth science and innovation.
In the classroom, guests could partake in activities such as building towers out of playing cards with Tim Muth, an instructor within the College of Business, and in a session on ocean robotics with professor of ocean engineering Stephen Wood, attendees taught a robot how to swim.
The interactive activities continued outside, too, where guests could make bristlebots, or robots for toothbrush heads; learn how to use SCUBA diving equipment; build an anemometer; extract strawberry DNA and more.
Keynote presentations held at Gleason Performing Arts Center highlighted subjects such as baby sharks; the human brain; the Milky Way and our galactic neighbors; the psychology of human spaceflight; the mysteries of lightning; and insights on monkey behavior.
Elaine Larsen, champion driver and president of Larsen Motorsports, spoke about racing Florida Tech’s jet dragster and gave guests a close look at the vehicle.
More than 20 student organizations such as Women in Aviation, the National Society for Black Engineers and the Panther Spirit Squad also hosted activities.
“It was truly a testament to the interdisciplinary education we offer at Florida’s STEM university,” said manager of event planning and production Julia Martinus. “The STEMPower Day team is extremely grateful to every participant – the faculty and their volunteers, the student organizations, and our campus partners – for dedicating their time and efforts to this event.”
Florida Tech aims to make sure that every K-12 student in Brevard County with a talent or affinity for STEM subjects feels encouraged to stay interested, to one day pursue higher education in a STEM field, and to understand that there will be an exciting STEM job waiting for them after they graduate.
