Bath next month will host one of the largest science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) events ever in Maine to inspire local students.
The Our STEM City show will be held from 5-7 p.m. April 6 at Morse High School. It’s free and will feature more than 50 community organizations, including Bath Iron Works, Maine Maritime Museum and Engineers Without Borders.
STEM jobs are expected to increase 11% through 2031, compared to 4.9% for other occupations, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bath has held STEM events at local schools since 2019; this year’s will be the biggest yet.
“This time, we decided to be more ambitious,” Monica Wright, a science teacher at Bath Middle School and one of the event organizers, told the Regional School Unit 1 board Monday. “(It’s) celebrating the collaboration that our community has around STEM thinking, practices and innovation.”
She said students have been participating in STEM projects in the past few days to gear up for the event, which is aimed at elementary and middle school students to get them thinking about possible career paths. High school students are also encouraged to attend.
The event will feature virtual reality demonstrations, animal science lessons and a robotic Sumo competition. There will also be demonstrations about the science behind making butter and bending wood with steam. BIW will give demonstrations on drones, virtual reality, 3D printing and augmented reality. Officials from the University of Maine will also be on hand to present a science road show.
“Anybody can put a STEM night together,” said Karen Dsilva, an organizer of the Our STEM City event. “They tend to target kids that are already academically minded — the A+ student that is already tracked to math or science or engineering. What we do is we’ve created a STEM city for students to see how the magic of innovation is tied to everything around Bath.
“It takes a village to create a bright future for a kid.”
The event will feature raffle prizes and will be run with the help of volunteers, according to Dsilva.
“So many people in Bath wanted to help,” she said. “I think it’s great for kids to connect with something they already know.”
For more information on the event, visit ourstemcity.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
