By Dominic Arthur, Staff Reporter.
The third annual Dow Great Lakes Bay Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Festival will take place at the college Saturday, Sept. 26, The two-day festival is for anyone interested in exploring career opportunities in the STEM fields.
“This is a really incredible event for our area youth, and something I’m very proud to be a part of again this year,” said Cynthia Drake, associate science division professor. “It is provided at no cost to the students, parents, teachers and other public who will attend, other than transportation to the event. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, including our main sponsor, The Dow Chemical Company.”
In winter of 2013, Delta College was sought out by then Mind Trekker’s Director of Pre-College Outreach, Steve Patchin, to bring their Mind Trekkers STEM Road Show to the Great Lakes Bay Region.
“Mind Trekkers is an event started in 2010 with the first official event at the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree in Washington DC. It utilizes Michigan Tech student volunteers to act as near-peer mentors to bring short 30 second to three minute activities that bring the ‘WOW’ of STEM to life,” said Drake.
The STEM Festival will feature many activities for students to enjoy including an array of hands-on learning and demonstrations.
“This is meant to be an opportunity for [students of all ages] to interact with college students and professionals in STEM fields in a relaxed, fun, interactive environment.”
The activities range from making instruments from PVC pipes, testing out a driving simulator, making liquid nitrogen ice cream, the opportunity to see a full size wind turbine blade up close and a variety of chemistry experiments.
“One of the more popular activities is Oobleck, which is a mixture of cornstarch and water that is a liquid until you apply force,” Drake said. “When force is applied, the Oobleck becomes a solid, but quickly turns back into a liquid when you remove the force. So you can ‘walk on water.’ ”
There has been some social challenges as Drake said, “STEM is often perceived as difficult or nerdy. I think that this perception is changing somewhat as ‘geek is chic’ to a certain extent these days.”
According to Drake, a “lengthy” 2012 Congressional report looked into what’s happening to students and why the interest isn’t there. They report found that career opportunities in STEM fields are growing, including its wages, but the field isn’t growing as rapidly as anticipated.
“Congress and President Obama have expressed a clear need to bridge this gap,” Drake said. “There is a deficit of qualified workers interested in these STEM fields. The deficit is due to a variety of factors, including an attraction gap where students in K-12 are ‘lost’ to STEM fields due to either lack of mentoring, perceived lack of interest, lack of opportunity, or a perception that STEM is ‘too hard.’ ”
According to Drake, 60% of STEM jobs don’t require a degree above an associate’s. This event is the opportunity for Delta College to showcase its STEM related programs that can “lead to productive careers in STEM.”
The festival is a collaboration between the Great Lakes Bay region and Michigan partners who share the same concerns about building the state’s STEM workforce pipeline.
“This work is far too important to leave it to chance when we can creatively and cost effectively interact with students to “fire up” their imaginations in exciting ways, and to encourage their STEM academic work and planning for college.”
Drake said the results from a post survey from their 2013 event “overwhelmingly” demonstrated that an event like this has a “positive impact” on area students and their perceptions of STEM, and the role that colleges like Delta can play in these ever-growing fields.
“More and more businesses are looking for more than just a degree from job applicants. They want to see that people are involved in their communities. What better way than to spend a day or two playing with kids and getting them excited about their futures?”
On Sept. 26 the festival will be open for everyone of all ages and anyone interested in seeing what STEM is all about can check the vent out between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. No registration is required.
For more information about the STEM Festival, visit www.delta.edu/science/sciencefestival.aspx or contact Cynthia Drake at cynthiadrake@delta.edu or by calling 989-686-9433.
