STEM Sessions 2018

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The planning committee for the 2018 Career Expo will host highly engaging sessions for a select number of students who travel from distant schools. Sessions are designed as  hands-on opportunities that will develop an interest in a variety of Health, Tech, and Trades careers, each one hour in length. Below are short descriptions of the sessions for 2018:

  • Session 1 – What is 6ft long yet still microscopic? It is said that DNA provides the instructions for life itself. But how do four molecules repeated billions of times along the length of the human genome translate into a human being?  Come and discover more about DNA and even extract some of your own! It doesn’t hurt a bit!  This session is facilitated by Carrie Leopold M.S. and her Inspire Innovation Laboratory.
  • Session 2 – Scratch Programming: In careers related to Computer Science and Software Engineering, programming is an essential skill, particularly for those wanting to work in the gaming industry.  In this session, students will be challenged to develop a computer game using the Scratch Programming language. This session is provided by the Software Engineering program at Valley City State University.
  • Session 3 – Engineering Challenge – Trusses: Commonplace to building structures are trusses, supporting roofs, and the heavy weights of snow. Trusses are widely used in building structures, bridges, airplanes, and supporting electric power lines. In this session, students will design a truss system, build a working model, then compete against other students and their designs for the system that supports the greatest load. Dr. Dilpreet Bajwa of NDSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering will be hosting this session.
  • Session 4 – EduTech Sponsored STEM Session
  • Session 5 – Engineering Challenge – Captivating Catapult:
    Students use the Engineering Design Process and the 4C”s to create a catapult that will rocket a marshmallow across the room. Using basic design concepts and an assortment of building materials, students will design their own catapults, build them, test them and perfect them before finally seeing how far they can fling a marshmallow. – Hosting this problem based learning exercise is South East Education Coop’s LaCosta Potter and Cheryl Brown of NDSCS.
  • Session 6 – Exploring the Universe in the Geodome: Students explore the universe in this state of the art 3D simulation of the stars, learning about star formation, galaxies, nebula, and super-nova. Participants will “fly” in the Geodome in this immersive and memorable experience that focuses  aerospace careers.  Facilitating the session will be Astrophysicist Dr. Timothy Young from the University of North Dakota Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Each session will run for one hour twice during the day: 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, participating students allowed to attend one of the two sessions. Attendance is limited to schools bringing 25 or fewer students.