On October 26, John Carroll hosted STEM Day--welcoming 33 visiting 7th and 8th grade students and their families. Led by visiting volunteers and JC faculty and students, the middle school students participated in six different activities.
Harford County’s Senior Science Society provided the expertise of four of its members to educate the young scientists. Bruce Burns challenged students and parents to drop eggs from 12 feet in a handmade container without breaking them. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about the construction of the I-95/695 interchange from Dave Greenwood, a civil engineer involved with the project. Former pilot, Ed Schmidt, shared his knowledge about aerodynamics. Students and parents delighted in how they could lift a bucket of rocks with only their little finger using a system of pulleys and levers set up by Dick Schwanke.
Paul Catrambone of Battelle showed students how to use a code cipher and challenged teams to encode and decode messages the fastest. Dr. Julie Baker, Chair of the John Carroll Science Department, led a session in the chemistry lab in which students could determine how much sugar was in some of their favorite drinks.