Fifth Grade STEM Students Increase STEM Career Awareness Through Worksite Visits

This spring was a time for all fifth graders to learn more about STEM careers. Most Madison City elementary schools were able to visit an industry workplace. Some schools learned about a variety of industry partners sharing STEM career information and activities at the school location. Whether visiting with community partners on site or at school, all MCS fifth grade students learned about skills and aptitudes needed for each STEM career presented. Thanks to our amazing community partners, our students have had an awesome experience.

Columbia Elementary visited Leidos where they rotated through a variety of stations such as:

The LAMS Station (Laser Air Monitoring System) where they learned about lasers bouncing off mirrors to read the air quality for astronauts at the International Space Station(ISS), the “Clean Room” which ensures the highest level air quality for manned spacecrafts, paper rocket building station where they designed, tested and used  “stomp” launchers, foil boat building station to design a boat to hold the highest load of passengers represented by marbles, and lastly viewing and interacting with engineers about a wide variety of drones that are used to protect our country. 

Students shared insights:

• “Engineering isn’t just putting parts together it’s a whole fascinating process that takes a lot of hard work and effort” 

• "That there are a lot of different varieties of STEM jobs and they all require a team. There are a bunch of kinds of STEM jobs so you can choose what most appeals to you."

• "The Drone career isn't just about flying drones, but also programming them and using them for human benefit."

Heritage Elementary visited Wheeler Wildlife National Refuge. Stations included: forest ranger demonstrations of tools used to put out fires and preserve our wildlife and habitats, learning how specialists monitoring a large variety of birds and migration patterns including the sandhill and whooping crane which flock to the refuge each each year, forest rangers showing how they monitor wildlife and propagate native plants within the refuge to ensure a healthy habitat, hydrologists explaining how they work to manage water levels to support 2,000 acres of waterfowl habitat and participating in an interactive Wheeler Wildlife scavenger hunt.  

Students remarked:

• “It is not easy to work with animals”

• “...people that manage water levels sometimes have to blow up beaver dams”

• “One fact I learned about a STEM career was that you may have to 

              wake up very early to do your job”

• “STEM careers are important to our environment”

Madison Elementary was guided by Teledyne Brown employees on tours of the NASA International Space Station (ISS) Payload Operations Center (POC) on Redstone Arsenal.  They were able to see and interview those who work up close and personal with the astronauts and space stations activities 24 hours a day.  The experiences also included learning about how this organization coordinates and monitors all the science activities on the ISS including experiments and payload operations. Students were able to manipulate Legos using “astronaut” gloves and see a 3-D video of scientists conducting actual experiments in the ISS .

Students shared that they learned:

• “People work with astronauts to train them and they use 3-D printers”

• “That they are in contact with Houston”

• “that the ISS goes around the world in a short time”

• “learning about how people in space patch up holes in the ship with 3d printed stuff"

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

Midtown Elementary had a great trip visiting the National Weather Service as well as The University of Alabama Huntsville’s Severe Weather Institute for Research & Lightning Laboratories (SWIRLL).  A few of the activities at the beautiful SWIRLL buildings at UAH included:  viewing a stormwater floodplain simulation system to learn about mitigating flooding levels, learning about how meteorologists take surveys/assessments in order to classify tornadoes, building a weather balloon/rain gauge, participating in interactive weather facts vs. myths trivia game, viewing a real weather balloon takeoff, and lastly, learning about storm chasers and hurricane hunters. Jessica Camuto & Danielle Dozier, both Channel 19 meteorologists, visited Midtown as part of the festivities to talk specifically about all it takes to do their important job of informing the public about upcoming weather events.

Some comment from the students:

• “Weather is a type of STEM career”

• “STEM is not just fun -  you have to do the work”

• “There is a job called a hydrologist”

• “You can be a storm chaser, meteorologist, and a news reporter.”

• "My favorite activity was the balloon flight, partly because that the sight was inspiring, and also because I could see how the wind blew the balloons around, and I learned how weather balloons worked."   

Mill Creek Elementary hosted a variety of STEM community partners. With Matt Moore and Kristy Olive from Ensafe, students learned about which STEM careers involve the field of geology.  Jake Fields from GeoCue exposed the students to LiDAR technology using drones and handheld scanners and had students help him demonstrate how laser light bounces off objects including mirrors. Stacy Ramirez & Jomaria Smith from Huntsville Hospital discussed the wide array of careers and incentives that are now being offered in the medical field. Karen Withrow brought a team of representatives from GE Aerospace to expose students to STEM careers in the aerospace industry. They demonstrated how a special fiber GE Aerospace produces can stretch several times around the school’s running track.  Mill Creek’s own STEM Specialist, Carlalee McKee, introduced TINKERCAD to 5th graders while they worked on their Chromebooks to design a 3D printed object.

Student comments about the experience included:

• “My favorite activity was the one with the doctor and nurse because that one made me interested in being a nurse.”

• “There are many stages of professions at a hospital.”

• “You can do a lot of different things from launching rockets to flying laser drones to find a position.”

• “One fact I like about the stem career is that  people can collect the rocks and minerals.”

• My favorite activity was LIDAR because it talked about caves and it is really cool.”

Rainbow Elementary hosted a variety of VIP guest speakers on April 30. North Alabama Home Builders Academy shared information about the four key trades that homebuilders specialize in such as HVAC, plumbing, carpentry, and electrical work. Dr. Nunnelly and Jules from  Madison Animal Care, shared about veterinary medicine and even brought a couple of fur baby friends. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) challenged students to use their reasoning skills by solving  some mock investigations using visual analysis, reverse image searches, metadata analysis, DNA and fingerprinting. GE Aerospace presented a wide variety of specialties including jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. North Alabama Land Trust involved students in the use of a dichotomous key to identify trees. The Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education (CCRE) - UAH had students analyze cybersecurity mysteries using special decoder wheels, and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) shared a variety of careers and engaged students in an activity involving electrical circuits (light up badges). 

Student comments about the experience included: 

• home building is a stem thing

• The FBI has A LOT of information from your pictures.

• Decoding online messages is hard.

Horizon Elementary took a trip to FlyQuest at the Huntsville Airport.  During this experience, they learned about flight school, aeronautics, specialized firefighting, airport security including a demonstration with a K-9 unit, and how cargo is cared for and flown all over the world. Students visited the air traffic control tower as well as heard about the myriad of other careers involved with running the Huntsville International Airport.

Student comments about the experience included:

• I did not know just how many jobs at the airport were STEM.

• I want to be an air traffic controller now that I know what you have to do to be one. 

• I learned that mowing is a big deal at the airport. I thought they just mowed for the same reasons my dad does at home.