Matt Irvin, Director of the Institute for Rural Education and Development and postdoctoral scholar Devan Jones were invited by Discovery Education to be part of the IRED presence at Family STEM Day, an event hosted by the Charleston County School District and co-sponsored by Google. Additional IRED team members that attended included research assistant professor Bryndle Bottoms, graduate student Giovanna Morara and Emily Kallis, and undergraduate student Andrew Heuer.

Approximately 450 families came to the at-capacity event. Family STEM Day was free to attend and provided opportunities for children and caregivers of all ages to get exposure to and hands-on experience with technology including robotics, 3D pens and coding.

The IRED exhibit consisted of four critical thinking components, each designed to explore a different STEM discipline:

• 3D Pens – Bring your imagination to life by creating a unique animal, creature, or figure using 3D pens! Design something that could survive in a specific biome—will it have fur for the Arctic, webbed feet for the wetlands, or scales for the rainforest? Using 3D pens encourages problem-solving, creativity, and planning as participants design a creature suited for specific biomes. Be ready to take your unique creation home when you're done!
• Bee-Bots Coding – Learn the basics of coding by programming a Bee-Bot to move across a mat. Bee-Bots Coding develops algorithmic thinking, logical reasoning, and debugging skills as students sequence commands to guide the Bee-Bot to where it needs to go. Plan your commands carefully to get it to the right destination!
• Educational Apps Exploration – Discover new and exciting educational apps that parents and students can explore together. This activity encourages students and parents to evaluate different learning apps, determining which best supports their needs. These activities collectively strengthen problem-solving abilities, logical reasoning, and creativity, which are essential components of critical thinking. You might just find your next favorite learning tool!
• Sphero Maze Challenge – Put your critical thinking skills to the test as you guide a Sphero robot through a tricky maze. This maze challenge enhances problem-solving and critical analysis by requiring participants to navigate a robot through a maze, using trial and error to refine their approach while considering logical reasoning with the presence of other robots in the maze. Can you navigate through twists and turns to reach the finish line? 

 

In addition to creating learning opportunities for attendees, the IRED team was able to make contact with leaders for STEM initiative and career development in the Charleston County School District over the course of the day.  

“It was an excellent opportunity for us to continue to support and foster our growing partnership with Discovery Education as well as connect with Charleston County School District about their STEM initiatives and career development activities for students in their rural schools.” Irvin said when asked about the event.

“Children and their parents/caregivers had an opportunity to learn about our resources and engagement efforts at the USC Institute for Rural Education and Development while engaging critical thinking skills.”