By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The PEERS Foundation was at Lincoln Elementary School on Monday working with 33 fifth graders in a CREATE Music STEM Camp during which students explored science, technology, engineering and math.
The Peers Foundation is a nonprofit that travels the United States exposing children to STEM education and encouraging children to consider STEM careers.
“We want them to see that these areas of STEM are not just abstract, in a book, sitting in a classroom,” Mark McDonald, STEM camp lead educator, said. “Not only are they fun and interesting, they are relevant in every aspect of their life. It doesn’t matter what they are interested in or what their career goal is, it can be related back to science, technology, engineering and math.”
McDonald referred to the oil and ag industry in Ellis County.
“We didn’t come up with 30-foot heads on combines without someone involved in engineering and creating it,” he said. “It is everywhere, and we want them to see that it is everywhere and it can be a good time. They are the future. They are the ones that are going to come up with the next thing.”
The children were split into two groups Monday morning. One group learned about coding, while the other learned about electrical engineering. The coding group used a program called Scratch to program a computer drum set and keyboard.
“It gets them using code, seeing how code works — if then functions and the whole process of variables,” McDonald said.
The engineering group used a set called littleBits to create simple synthesizers.
The students were also taken through design and prototypes. The program exposes the students to several types of prototypes, including digital, paper and functional prototypes made with 3-D printers.
Then McDonald tasked the students to work together to create their own apps to make music.
The students also work with beginning CAD design in a program called Verto Studio. The younger students learn how to make snowmen. However, they learn vertices can be more important when working in more detail in CAD to create buildings, video games or landscape design. PEERS works with students through high school and does much more advanced work with Verto Studio, depending on the students’ skill levels.
“The stuff they are doing are like tools in their pouch because the next best thing could be in their mind right now. I really want them to be creative and be hands-on and to ask questions and to explore what we have here for them and use it,” McDonald said.
The CREATE camp brings the arts and technology together.
“STEM is evolving into STEAM where the arts are involved,” McDonald said. “We as a group feel that it is extremely important. The creativity aspect of science technology, engineering and math is huge.”