Twenty four middle school students from Menands and Watervliet spent a week together learning about cars and semiconductors as part of the annual Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Enrichment Program offered by Capital Region BOCES in partnership with Future STEM (formerly Ten80 Education) and funded by Global Foundries.
The enrichment program—now in its sixth year—ran from Aug. 3 through Aug. 7 at the Menands Union Free School District. Students explored electricity, semiconductors, and 1/10th scale electric racecars. The program culminated in a student showcase on Aug. 7.
The Capital Region BOCES Educational Support Services (ESS) division works with school district leaders to identify students from diverse and underserved communities who would benefit most from the program. ESS Director Kelly Masline said everything, from program materials to transportation, is covered by Global Foundries.
“Bringing together students from Watervliet and Menands allows them to forge relationships with new people,” said Masline. “On the first day of the program, students were so quiet, but by the end they were forging friendships.”
Future STEM Executive Director Terri Stripling said the program curriculum, which had been workshopped with employers and other stakeholders, focused on a concept called “T-Square,” which stands for Teamwork, Technology, Tool Use (literacy), and Tenacity.
“The kids love it, and they learn a whole bunch of tool use and mechanical systems, and when something breaks they learn how to fix it,” said Stripling. “There is a wide range of student abilities here, which is why team oriented work is excellent.”
Stripling said students were encouraged to get creative in preparation for their showcase on Aug. 7. Students used PowerPoint slides and poster boards for their presentations, and created logos to make their work standout.
“They all created neighborhoods using geometric nets—a two dimensional flat pattern folded into a three dimensional object which is their house. And they have elevated away from copper tape into what we call a wire harness. So they’re using alligator clips and jumper wires,” she said. “Some of them even discovered pipe cleaners or conductors, so they’ve got a neighborhood that they’ve all built and used different skills along the way.”
Watervliet student Frank Jones looks forward to a future in electrical engineering. He said his favorite part of the program was “anything that involves electricity” and learning more about snap circuits.
His team member, Jadyn Jeffrey from Menands, said he learned what tenacity means, which is to never give up.
ESS Secretary Meghan Coyne, who helped with the day-to-day operations of the program, said she enjoyed seeing students lean on each other for support.
“They loved troubleshooting and really enjoyed working together. Some students also liked working alone,” said Coyne. “They were really interested in the race cars, learning about the motors and batteries, replacing the batteries and the wheels. It was fun to watch everything come together at the end.”
Global Foundries Workforce Development Lead Christine McLear said the lesson she hopes students take away from the experience is to be excited by something even when it’s hard.
“That’s really what engineers do everyday is stay excited about things that are hard, and so leaving with that enthusiasm and curiosity about STEM is exactly what we hope for,” said McLear.
“This is our future workforce, and we saw amazing skills and enthusiasm here and we know these are the students we want to hire in the future to be our technicians and engineers at Global Foundries.”