Milwaukee Public Schools hosted its 12th annual STEM Fair at Discovery World Thursday. More than 400 students from 42 schools set up their projects for judging and demonstrated a wide range of science concepts.
About 250 projects were on exhibit.
This STEM Fair connects what students are learning in school with life experiences. The Fair provides the opportunity to show what students have learned in science, plus their mathematical analysis of data, research, writing and communication abilities.
The STEM Fair is made possible by numerous community partners, about 130 judges and 50 volunteers.
"Usually the students will do a project on a topic that's interesting to them and they'll expand on it," said Rochelle Sandrin, the science curriculum specialist for Milwaukee Public Schools. "That's what we really encourage. We want to find something that they are passionate about, that they really enjoy so they can see how STEM career fields can be as they grow older. So they can find their little niche."
"I was interested in Albert Einstein's research on gravity," said 7th grader Jackeline Ortega. "So I studied that and took a closer look at accelerated mass and speed of light. This is really cool. I appreciate this moment right now."
"I had to calibrate a controller to the robots so I could test and get the most accurate data," said 8th grader Adrian Ramirez, who did a project testing the best tires for distance and different terrain. "It was my interest in robotics that made me do this. It's really a crucial part of my life that I enjoy doing."
