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STEM workshops bring out the fun in learning

Keith Vandervort
Posted 3/23/17

ELY – Is it really possible to fill a glass with water and turn it upside down without spilling?

Edee Flug looked tentative, then daring as she held the glass of water over her face Saturday …

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STEM workshops bring out the fun in learning

Posted

ELY – Is it really possible to fill a glass with water and turn it upside down without spilling?

Edee Flug looked tentative, then daring as she held the glass of water over her face Saturday morning at Vermilion Community College in Ely. She gripped the upside down glass tightly as she brought it closer to her face. The water inside was held in place by just a sheet of paper.

Along with Edee, 20 other Ely-area girls in grades 5-8 gathered at VCC for the annual STEM Workshops day.

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

By itself, it may sound like a list of difficult subjects for a group of young girls to be learning about on a Saturday. But the Ely Branch of the American Association of University Women, with collaboration from VCC, provided a fun day of activities and experiments for who could possibly be tomorrow’s scientists and engineers.

By exposing students to STEM and giving them opportunities to explore STEM-related concepts, they could develop a passion for it and hopefully pursue a job in a STEM field, said Sherry Abts, of Ely, an instructor from the Laurentian Environmental Center, who conducted one of the workshops, called “Wind & Water Wonders.”

Back to the water in the upside-down experiment:

The secret is right in front of your nose—it’s the air that we breathe. Air molecules in the atmosphere exert pressure on everything. Scientists know that at sea level air molecules in the atmosphere exert almost 15 pounds of pressure (14.7 pounds if you want to be exact) per square inch of surface area. Your body is used to feeling this kind of air pressure, so you don’t notice it.

When you first turn the cup upside down, the pressure of the air inside the cup and the air pressure outside the cup are equal. If you look closely, however, you’ll notice that just a little water leaks out between the card and the cup. This happens because the force of gravity naturally pulls down on the water. When some of the water escapes, this causes the volume of air (the space above the water inside the cup) to increase slightly. Even though the amount of air above the water stays the same, the volume occupied by the air is now greater and the air pressure inside the cup decreases. The pressure of the air outside the cup is now greater than the pressure inside the cup and the card stays in place. All of this is possible because the water creates an airtight seal between the rim of the cup and the card.

When the seal is broken (even a tiny bit), air enters into the cup, equalizes the pressure, and gravity pushes the water out. Poking a thumbtack-size hole in the cup allows air to seep into the cup from the outside. The pressure of the air molecules both inside and outside the cup stays the same, gravity takes over, the card falls, and the water spills. (Source: www.stevespanglercience.com)

Abts presented several other experiments for the girls to have fun with. “And they learn something cool at the same time,” she said.

In nearby classrooms, other instructors were presenting experiments in other subjects.

Julie Hignell and Jill Nocera Swanson, from Ely Community Resource, were using microscopes in the biology lab to isolate and display microscopic organisms gathered from area lakes for the girls to identify. “This one looks like a really scary monster,” was heard from one student as she peered through the equipment.

Chuck Plantz, the librarian for Ely Schools, provided materials for the students to construct an “Egg Car-Crash Test.” Using their own imagination and materials including wheels, straws, balloons, cardboard, pencils, egg carton pieces and a glue gun, students first used plastic eggs, then real eggs, to test their theories to keep the egg in one piece after rolling down an incline. There were many “victims” and lots of laughter as the crash tests proceeded.

Prior to rotating through the various experiment stations, the STEM students were introduced to several VCC students who are studying Environmental Interpretation/Education. During the brief ice-breaker session, the “big kids” explained some of the subjects they are learning about, including geology and rock identifying, map reading and how to use a compass, and other subjects.

Though the United States has historically been a leader in the STEM fields, fewer students have been focusing on these topics recently. According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 16 percent of high school students are interested in a STEM career and have proven a proficiency in mathematics. Currently, nearly 28 percent of high school freshmen declare an interest in a STEM-related field, a department website says, but 57 percent of these students will lose interest by the time they graduate from high school.

The Obama administration initiated the “Educate to Innovate” campaign in 2009 to motivate and inspire students to excel in STEM subjects. This campaign also addresses the inadequate number of teachers skilled to educate in these subjects. The goal is to get American students from the middle of the pack in science and math to the top of the pack in the international arena.

According to a report by the website STEMconnector-org, by 2018, projections estimate the need for 8.65 million workers in STEM-related jobs. The manufacturing sector faces an alarmingly large shortage of employees with the necessary skills — nearly 600,000.

The field of cloud computing alone created 1.7 million jobs between 2011 and 2015, according to the report. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2018, the bulk of STEM careers will be:

• Computing – 71 percent

• Traditional Engineering – 16 percent

• Physical Sciences – 7 percent

• Life Sciences – 4 percent

• Mathematics – 2 percent

STEM jobs do not all require higher education or even a college degree. Less than half of entry-level STEM jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, a four-year degree is incredibly helpful with salary — the average advertised starting salary for entry-level STEM jobs with a bachelor’s requirement was 26 percent higher than jobs in the non-STEM fields, according to the STEMconnect report. For every job posting for a bachelor’s degree recipient in a non-STEM field, there were 2.5 entry-level job postings for a bachelor’s degree recipient in a STEM field.