From Corporate and Public Communication US Army CERDEC:
A U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground research center, in partnership with Harford and Cecil County public schools, will complete a five-year cycle through each of the 50 elementary schools across the two counties demonstrating the essence of engineering to every first to fifth grader, the week of April 3.
The U.S. Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center’s STEM Superstar program’s five-year mission will culminate at Chesapeake City Elementary School. CERDEC’s Outreach specialists will spend four days starting Monday, April 3, going from class to class with their bag of tools, drawing from pop culture references designed to spark the imaginations of the first through fifth grade students, and help students play their way into the world of engineering.
Media are invited to sit-in on a 50-min session with the students and to speak with teachers, county representatives, CERDEC facilitators and the Chesapeake City Elementary School principal April 6, 0900. Refreshments will be provided.
“The STEM Superstars program is yet another exciting APG outreach program that reaches so many of our students. These experiences build on our science and math program in ways that motivate and excite every student. HCPS greatly appreciates the incredible effort and work that goes into making this program possible,” said Andrew Renzulli, Supervisor of Science, Harford County School System.
The STEM Superstar program was conceived by CERDEC after working with the two counties’ school systems, as well as other Army STEM organizations on APG to identify how best to enhance the area’s current STEM outreach program offerings. The purpose of the program is to help demystify the world of STEM early-on, and it aligns the practical application of an Army research and development center with the schools’ curricula. Since its inception, STEM Superstar has reached more than 21,000 students.
“The STEM Superstars event has brought tremendous excitement to both students and teachers,” said Frank Cardo, Cecil County Public Schools Science and STEM program coordinator. “For a brief moment these students get to be engineers working on an intergalactic problem where as a team they have to come up with a very creative solution. To solve this problem the students have to work through the engineering design process which is part of the Maryland Science Standards (The Science and Engineering Practices).”
“It’s hard at that level to do truly skills-based STEM programming, the way you can when you get to higher grade levels. We wanted to bring it to their level and make it something engaging and fun,” said Erica Bertoli, CERDEC Educational Outreach Program lead.
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