Primary School Students Tackle STEM

(EMU) – St. Kitts, May 8, 2018: Erupting volcanoes, missile launches, electronic cars and the marvels of the galaxy are just some of the experiments/projects that were on display at various schools on St. Kitts, as primary school students exhibited their love for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Throughout the second term, the Ministry of Education, through its Curriculum Development Unit, organized a series of STEM Fairs at the Primary School level. STEM supports children in developing a strong foundation and passion for learning as they garner the necessary skills to empower their career choice. The aim of the STEM Fairs is to provide stimulating STEM activities for students, some which could be used in their homes. The fairs are geared towards exposing students to the plethora of opportunities that are available in the field.

The STEM Fairs produced projects, tools, techniques and tips for not only for the benefit of students but the attendees as well. The students displayed their projects and guided on lookers through relevant steps of the science project process. This showed their literacy in Science and Technology which are attributes of productive and engaged citizens.

Chairperson of the National STEM Fair Steering Committee, Mr. Olston Strawn and Science Coordinator, disclosed that the idea to have the schools host these fairs came from the lack of interest in STEM when the students advanced to the high schools. “We want to get our students turned on to science, and recognize that there are a lot of opportunities, for personal (development) and development of country,” he stated.

Having attended the fairs, he announced that his expectations were surpassed, “This is really amazing, I am excited about the excitement that students have and the quality of displays that they are creating and I think it speaks volumes to what is really happening in our schools. The future looks really bright and I want to encourage everyone to recognize that STEM is a viable option and our country stands to benefit tremendously if more of our students got involved in STEM.”

Thus far the STEM fairs have proved to be successful as our youths are learning about diverse fields such as manufacturing, medicine, design and entertainment. The schools will now produce their most remarkable displays/experiments for a National Science Fair which will be held on November 8th – 9th, 2018.

Schools that have already conducted their STEM Fairs include, Joshua Obediah Primary, Cotton Thomas Comprehensive, Tucker Clark Primary, St. Pauls Primary, Sandy Point Primary, Violet Petty Primary, Dieppe Bay Primary and the Estridge Primary Schools.

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