STEM takes center stage at Tega Cay Elementary Expo

Brush bots, rockets and a confetti gun lined the cafeteria at Tega Cay Elementary School on Friday as science took center stage.

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, Club held the school’s first annual STEM expo featuring student projects. The event showcases the club’s effort all year to promote science and technology in a fun way, said club chair Mark Mogge.

“It gets them excited about science,” he said.

Since the STEM club began meeting in August, its more than 50 third- through fifth-graders have learned about germ transmission, space flight, robotics, coding and more. Mogge, whose son Andrew is a fourth-grader in the club, said he wanted to expand Tega Cay Elementary’s STEM experience.

“I didn’t see the depth of STEM so far, so I decided to add to it by volunteering,” he said. “It’s about raising STEM awareness, especially for Tega Cay Elementary.”

The club, which is sponsored by the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization, meets twice a month after school and gives students hands-on experience and projects to work on at home, Mogge said. He said it has been a chance to expose students to science and technology fields.

“You would be surprised by how little the kids have been exposed to it,” he said.

Gene Hart, a volunteer with the STEM Club, said the goal is to get students interested in careers in those fields.

“There is a shortage in America with science and engineering,” he said. “We want to get them excited about science and see how fun it can be.”

Fifth-grader Sierra Chandler, 11, built an insect bot for the expo. She put together the robot using a kit and had to get it to function, including connecting wires and completing the coding.

“I learned it takes time to build something cool,” she said. “I like that you get to play with it and test it out.”

Chandler, 11, compared the insect bot to a Sphero, a robot controlled by code and an app that connects to a smartphone.

Emily Pilarczyk, a fifth-grader, also built an insect bot. Pilarczyk, 11, said she did the coding herself to make it move.

“It’s very fun,” she said.

Other projects included a cannon that shoots red foam balls, a soap experiment and a demonstration of density.

Tega Cay parent Shannon Jorden, whose daughter Anna Jorden is in the third grade, said the STEM Club gets students excited about what they are taught every day.

“It’s a hands-on experience about what they learn in school,” she said.

Susan Miller, mother of third-grader Lauren Miller, said it is a fun way to teach the students science and technology concepts.

“They are having a blast doing science, technology and engineering and they don’t even realize it,” she said.

Tega Cay Mayor George Sheppard said the program is a stepping stone to preparing students for the growth of technology.

“We need to encourage more students to get involved with science and technology,” he said. “It’s a great thing the school does.”

Eric Hammond, faculty sponsor for the club, said Mogge brought his passion for science, engineering and math to the students.

“There are so many kids that are wanting to do things like this and he is giving them a place to do it,” Hammond said.

Mogge said he would like more schools in York County to incorporate STEM and provide funding.

“My goal is to make this a permanently funded program through the PTO,” he said.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 8:48 PM with the headline "STEM takes center stage at Tega Cay Elementary Expo."