Teaching STEM by osmosis

Ann (left) and Amanda proudly displaying their project results. They tested what change soaking gummy bears in different liquids would cause on their size. Photo by Joshua Vissers

Students and parents alike had a chance to experience the fun side of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at a special event on Thursday afternoon. Older students from local high schools and Michigan Technological University gathered to demonstrate projects and STEM concepts to students from kindergarten up to 8th grade at a STEM Festival on the ground floor of MTU’s Memorial Union Building.

In turn, local 4th-8th graders showed off their STEM chops with science and engineering projects in the upstairs ballroom.

“We thought of this because we really like gummy bears,” said 4th grader Amanda. “And so we wondered, can we make them larger? And do they taste good?”

Amanda and her project partner, Ann, are both 4th graders from Houghton Elementary School. The pair tested soaking gummy bears for 72 hours in sugar water, salt water and pure water against their control group, an unsoaked gummy bear.

The growth results were quite clear and measurable, with pure water causing the gummy bear to roughly double in size. The taste results were more subjective.

“They did not taste good,” Ann said.

“The water one is fine,” replied Amanda.

The pair said they had a lot of fun, and already plan on participating again next year.

Even though it can be fun, the Western U.P. STEM Fair & Festival has high educational value, too.

“These are students that have been preparing their project for weeks now,” said Emily Gochis, Western UP MiSTEM director. “This is hard work for these students.”

The Houghton High School Robotics teams had several of their robots there for demonstrations and even test drives. Video by Joshua Vissers

From doing initial research and forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting an experiment, and finally analyzing and presenting results, the projects give the students a chance to work through the entire scientific process. Rather than a short daily school assignment, the activity models a long-term, in-depth project.

“Which is what we do in the real world,” Gochis said.

A panel of judges made of professors and industry leaders scored each of the projects. Any project that got at least 80 of 100 points has been placed in a bronze, silver, or gold ribbon category.

Click here to check out the 2023 results.

Kinley Lyons is a 4th-year chemical engineering student at MTU now, but she participated in the STEM Fair years ago as a grade schooler. Lyons and her partner constructed a hovercraft as their project, using an old street sign, a tarp, and a leaf blower.

“It didn’t work that well, but it did work,” she said with a laugh. “It is one of the things that got me into engineering, and here I am now.”

It was also the first time Lyons remembers coming to a university campus.

“It really gave me a perspective on Michigan Tech’s campus,” Lyons said.

The STEM Fair and Festival, a partnership between MTU and the Copper Country Intermediate School District’s MiSTEM program, returned to an in-person event this year after COVID-19 forced them to shift to an online format.

Laura Rowe, a 5th-grade teacher at Lake Linden for the last 28 years, said because of the COVID-19 break, this was the first time at the STEM festival for many of the students.

“The kids were so excited to come here,” Rowe said.

The attendance was down a little from previous years, but Rowe thinks it will grow more as people learn what it is again after the pandemic break.

“I think the kids’ favorite part of it is actually doing the experiment itself,” Rowe said.

The Festival was host to several fun demonstrations. The bananas on the table are touch-sensitive and play musical notes through the laptop. Photo by Joshua Vissers

The festival featured demonstrations of a variety of STEM subjects. A thermal camera was available to play with the concept of seeing heat instead of light. A group explained basic circuits using LEDs, 9v batteries, and different colored Play-Doh, which is conductive largely due to the high salt content. The Copper Country Recycling Initiative was explaining the mechanical sorting process and the different makeup of recyclable products. All the demonstrations had an interactive element and invited students to get involved with the concepts being presented.

Gochis said the event was started about 25 years ago as a science fair, but over that time has grown into a STEM fair and festival. This year they added an engineering category to the fair for the first time.

“The age groups of grades 4-8, students tend to be really, really interested in these areas, and that’s not just boys,” Tom Oliver, director of the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, said.

After 8th grade, interest in STEM fields drops off among young women, which has led to these fields being dominated by men.

“We’re trying to open up opportunities that will provide those young women the opportunity to stay interested and find things that are engaging,” Oliver said.

Oliver encourages anyone interested in forming a partnership with MTU’s Center for Science and Environmental Outreach to contact him.