South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) and Chattahoochee-Flint RESA recently held a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) event on the SGTC campus in Americus. More than 400 eighth grade students from area schools attended the event which was held over two days in the James S. Peters Gymnasium.
The theme for this year’s STEM Days event “Electrifying STEM”. Guided by Chattahoochee-Flint RESA STEM Coordinator Heidi Goodin, students participated in a variety of activities exploring aspects of electricity including simple paper circuits, light sabers, and constructing circuit boards capable of Morse coding.
STEM Days attendees also participated in two engineering STEM challenges: constructing paper towers capable of supporting a weight of 15 ounces, and building a noodle tower to hold a marshmallow.
On the first day, Don Porter, local manager of Georgia Power in Americus and Chair of the SGTC Board of directors, welcomed students from Clay County, Marion County, Southland Academy, Chattahoochee County, Macon County, and Furlow Charter School to the event. Georgia Power also donated pencils and electronic cloths for students to use in activities.
Dr. John Watford, President of South Georgia Technical College, greeted students from Schley County, Stewart County, SOWEGA STEM, Taylor County, and Quitman County on the second day.
In addition to STEM activities, Nancy Fitzgerald, SGTC Grants Coordinator and Institutional Research, provided the eighth graders in attendance an overview of programs offered at SGTC and a discussion of Dual Enrollment with a question and answer session.
South Georgia Technical College hosts STEM Days and other events in cooperation with Chattahoochee-Flint RESA to show and encourage future students to explore careers in STEM fields.
South Georgia Technical College offers over 200 programs of study leading to an associate degree, diploma, or technical certificate including many programs in STEM fields. For more information, visit www.southgatech.edu.