What’s Right With Our Schools: Chattanooga State Hands-On STEM Day
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Students from communities across the Tennessee Valley gathered and Chattanooga State to learn more about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. They call it “Hands-On Stem Day”. It’s a great example of “What’s Right With Our Schools.”
“This is our STEM day. It happens every year during Engineers Week on a Friday of that week and we invite around 160 middle school in high schoolers from at least five different counties to come and experience a STEM,” Dr. Tre Powell, Dean of Engineering, Chattanooga State Community College said.
Dr. Tre Powell continues,” We have over 24 different concentrations of careers that we trained for and a lot of the young students don’t know about the different opportunities so we’re not only tell them about it. We give them an in-depth hands-on experience to the different areas.”
“They just need to know what options they have open. There’s a lot of people don’t understand what options they have until they’re in a predicament where they need to choose,” Austin Yarbrough, Design Drafting Major, Chattanooga State Community College said.
“They were going over gravity air friction, frictional forces,” Dr. Tre Powell said.
“And basically observing how they would fall as air fortune would handle on them,” Dr. Tre Powell said.
Dr. Tre Powell says, “In our computer information technology program we teach them not only the inner workings of computers in those parts, but also servers routers how to build a network and then going into the in-depth software and how to put everything together.”
“Everybody know something about cars. When you go shopping they’re all consumers. So, it’s important for them to understand the basic component of computer,” Todd Zinkaan, Teacher, Chattanooga Valley Middle School said.
Dr. Tre Powell says, “You’re writing a boiler or a nuclear reactor you don’t want any cracks and defaults anything in that vessel that will make you have to shut down cause any safety issues. But we trained and non-destructive testing is for you to be able to analyze the material in the safety make sure everything is still together and working and able to hold what it needs to hold without any issues.”
“For BASF they show them different chemical reactions and how to make a lotion from basic household chemicals,” Dr. Tre Powell said.
“Of course, reading is fine, going through the textbooks and the problems,so. I’ve always been a very hands-on person so having an experience to attach something really helped me to get more excited about it,” Michael Heraty, Professional Development said.
“Well, when I get older, I’ll be able to maybe complete college. Get a good job. Get a good paying job. You know everything I need to be successful,” Zane Lankford: 8th Grade, Chilhowee, Middle School said.
“What the kids are doing today is not just a tour of a building, but hands-on experience of many many different career opportunities. It gives them that exposure and ideas for the future,” Dr. Tre Powell said.
