'Science can be fun:' STEM Day at Frankton Elementary

Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read

May 10—FRANKTON — Science, technology, engineering and math captured the attention of Frankton Elementary School students Thursday.

Older students from Frankton Jr./Sr. High School demonstrated several STEM projects.

Kimberly Brown, technology specials teacher at the elementary school, organized the first STEM day in with help from several other teachers.

"When I went to a conference at Purdue, I learned Wes-Del, a small school like ours, had a program to get more kids into advanced classes," Brown said.

"All of these classes are advanced placement, and if you expose children to more science, technology, engineering and math, they will take more of those classes."

About 240 students from the elementary school and 40 from the high school participated in the event.

"I hope they learn how science can be fun and failure is OK," Brown said. "The more they experience, the more they will learn."

High School teacher Caitlyn Garber helped organize the STEM Day.

"I hope the students take out an excitement and interest in all things STEM-related," she said. "Once they get to high school, they will have a lot of options on what classes they want to take.

"With the high school diploma you have to take many science classes, so it's to get them started and interested in the classes."

Sophomore Emma Hardeback demonstrated "Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe," where you have to put a mark in the circle first established by another competitor.

"I love being in the STEM program," she said. "My favorite class is math."

Kase Clevenger, a senior, likes the math classes because of the puzzles involved. Thursday, he launched a small rocket to demonstrate the creation of a parabola curve.

"I'm going to Purdue University for agricultural engineering," he said. "I live on a family farm. I like working on the farm."

Senior Kayden Key, who demonstrated static electricity, likes the engineering part of the STEM program. Matt Farr likes the science. He'll attend Trine University with hopes of becoming a biological engineer.

They demonstrated static electricity with a round globe that made the students' hair stand on end.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.