Huntingdon High School Hosts District-Wide STEAM Fair

HUNTINGDON (November 4) — Huntingdon High School hosted a district-wide STEAM Fair Tuesday evening featuring approximately 30 projects by primary, middle and high school students displaying knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

The theme of the event was "From the Depths to the Stars", giving the students a focal point, albeit broad, of anything from the ocean to outer space.

HHS STEM teacher Spencer Ezell told The Banner that STEAM was relatively new for the schools, in its fifth year at the high school and third at the middle and primary schools. 

"With STEAM, what we do is we take all of the things that kids are learning in their other classes, and we put it together for real world scenarios, real world problems. We take those aspects of science, technology, engineering, art, ag and mathematics. That's the point of tonight. I think the implementation is great for our school district. They have just completely knocked it out of the park. I think they exceeded all expectations. I'm so glad that we got the turnout that we did."

One project on display at the fair was STEAM Creations, a multifaceted business run solely by HHS work-based learning students.

Senior Jacob Martin told The Banner, "This is a chance for us to experiment and teach people, not only from shirt-making and printing to designing, like graphic design and website design, and management. It also teaches a really good work ethic.

"At the school, we've expanded to include a coffee shop which we have every Monday through Thursday. We use that all to teach a bunch of people."

Fellow senior Mary Claire Kolwyck added, "There are little cliques that do different things. There's some that are in the design process. There's some that are in the hands-on stuff like the actual printing of the shirts. And then there's some that do all the extra stuff, they go and sell and do the websites and plan all of that."

At the fair, the group displayed shirts and earrings they've designed and produced, as well as some of the equipment they use and a small scale model of a brick-and-mortar shop the students designed.

Among projects from the middle school were some by students in "STREAM", which incorporates robotics into STEAM. One group of students built a rover and coded it to navigate obstacles on Martian terrain. Another group designed and created small, fully-functional submarines.

Huntingdon Primary School STEM teacher LaTasha Woodell applied and received a TVA grant for her students to learn more about different types of engineering. The project is called STEM Impact Academy.

Woodell told The Banner, "Our primary objective is to create a dynamic learning environment where students gain practical STEM skills while also exploring career opportunities and understanding the economic factors that drive these fields. By incorporating this knowledge into our curriculum, we aspire to motivate and steer students toward well-informed career decisions in engineering. We are introducing students to different engineering fields in the classroom, aiming to raise awareness and interest in these careers."

She said the grant supports a series of innovative activities, resources and partnerships designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications.

"The goal is to incorporate design thinking into career development activities and help students explore STEM careers effectively while understanding the economic factors influencing these careers. This approach enables students to develop user-centered career plans, make informed decisions, and adapt to changing job markets. It not only enhances their career readiness but also fosters essential problem-solving skills that are valuable in any STEM career."

She explained that for this event, students explored civil engineering by researching different types of bridges and using materials within the classroom to build their own.