By Ainsley Hall
SPRING MILLS — Spring Mills High School hosted its annual Family STEAM Night event Monday evening, where students and different organizations ran tables with hands-on STEAM activities.
The event started around seven years ago, when a group of teachers from Spring Mills High School went on a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit a STEAM conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The teachers were so impressed with all the different hands-on activities that they decided to plan their own STEAM event. They decided to partner with Remake Learning Days, a West Virginia Public Education Collaborative that promotes hands-on learning festivals across the state.
Sara Slatcoff, forensics and engineering teacher, is one of the people involved in putting the event together. She originally got involved in the event through her business, SMart Exotics, which introduces people to different kinds of reptiles and amphibians and explains how people can properly take care of these unique pets.
Over the years, Slatcoff found herself getting more and more involved.
“This event is important for two reasons,” Slatcoff said. “One, older students get to share things they enjoy. At least half of the tables here were developed by students. Second, for little kids, it sparks an interest in the science field. They also get to see the school, meet some of the teachers and interact with older students in the community.”
Many students involved in clubs and leadership groups at Spring Mills High School volunteered during the event, including 10th-grade student Tyler Kaufmann. Kaufmann is a member of the Maine Biology Club and the Student Government Association.
She enjoys volunteering and working with kids, so she was excited to have the opportunity to share her passion for science with others. During the event, Kaufmann worked at a station where students talked about the rock layer by using desserts.
“I love seeing the smiles on all the kids’ faces,” Kaufmann said. “I also really enjoy having an opportunity to lead. I love leading and learning how to be a leader. But it’s really the kids’ smiles that makes this so much fun.”
The event also had stations that focused on upcycling, led by the Green Earth Club’s advisor Deborah Cheek, where kids could learn how to use old plastic bottles or T-shirts to make something new like a bird feeder or a toy snake. Marlowe Elementary School also had its own station where glow-in-the-dark pendulum paintings were made.