SHOW AND TELL

 
On April 8, Metro took over the Battelle cafeteria again for the second annual STEM Fair. More than 40 students came to share their favorite projects with Battelle staff during lunch.

This year we had extra guests view the exhibition. Teachers from Linden McKinley, which will open in the fall as a new STEM school, were at Battelle for professional development and curriculum planning, and spent time with us at the fair. Keisha Slaughter, a project manager with the Ohio Stem Learning Network who is helping with the Linden redesign, brought several current Linden students in to learn about the types of projects a STEM school can offer. She told me that she is excited about the possibility of Linden participating in a STEM fair, and I suggested we plan a joint exhibition for our schools next year. You know how we value collaboration!

Planning an event like this is always a lot of work, and little things are bound to go wrong, but it is so worthwhile to see busy professionals take time out of their day to speak with the students and encourage them to continue their hard work. The students get to see where that hard work can lead them. The staff members get to go back to their offices and labs with a new hope for the next generation.

One staff member commented to me that it was great to see the enthusiasm the kids had about their displays. He said he works a lot of science fairs where he sees students and even parents going through the motions just to get credit for participating.

Another staff member sent me an e-mail afterward: “I just want to say I was really amazed by the students today!  I only meant to spend a few minutes glancing at everything but ended up staying for two hours because it was so impressive and interesting. Please let them know they all did a fabulous job!!”

I want to extend a big thanks to everyone who helped make this event possible, especially Connie Stephenson. I also want to thank the Battelle staff who came to support our kids!