On Jan. 30, families and community members from Maine School Administrative District 75 joined local businesses and educators for a fun-filled evening of STEM activities at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham.
The district’s first STEM Night invited community members of all ages to participate in activities related to science, technology, engineering and math — including virtual firefighting, Lego robotics, tours of the Bath Iron Works virtual reality trailer, a robotics hallway and digital arts.
A highlight of the evening was the Woodside One Wheelers, a juggling and unicycling group based at Woodside Elementary School in Topsham. The One Wheelers attached sensors to their unicycles to demonstrate how sensors gather scientific data and show the physics of unicycling. They also performed at halftime of the girls basketball game later in the evening.
Chris Hoffman, principal of the high school, was a bit nervous about turnout prior to the inaugural event. “Having not done this before, we weren’t sure what to expect for community attendance,” he said. By the end of the night, more than 400 people had come out to learn about STEM.
The many businesses and organizations participating in the event included employers in STEM fields, such as Crooker Construction, Tyler Technologies, and Lockheed Martin. Community and educational organizations contributed as well, including the Topsham Fire and Rescue Department, the University of Maine at Augusta’s Uncrewed Aircraft Training Program, and the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance.
The event was organized by a team of educators from MSAD 75: Corrie Calderwood, Amanda Hersey, Hoffman, Nicholas Riggie, and Doug Ware. All five are participating in Workforce Ready 2030, a program sponsored by the Harold Alfond Foundation that creates partnerships between businesses and educators to integrate computer science into Maine classrooms.
Many other MSAD 75 staff volunteered their time to help run the event. “I’m delighted with how our first community STEM Night turned out, and I hope we can do it again next year,” Calderwood said.
