Girls STEM Workshop and Robot Roundup at Lakers

In October, Lakers hosted two STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) events. The first was a Girl-Powered STEM Workshop, which brought 20-plus girls from Lakers and other area schools to Laker High for some awesome science, technology, engineering and math activities. in one science room, the young ladies heard from Lindsay Fry, of Gemini, about being a woman engineer and what engineering jobs entail. She also had the girls build a mini robot. In the science lab, girls enjoyed several hands-on STEM activities, such as Ozobots, making computer music using electric power in various foods, building boats with various everyday materials and testing them in a kiddie pool, and learning about gyroscopes from fidget spinners and the Segway human transporter. Each session was 45 minutes, and then the two groups switched. Laker High School students assisted Laker teachers Deb Hasselschwert and Jamie Schaefer during the sessions. It was awesome to see and hear girls working together to solve problems and create STEM magic!

The second event was the Robot Roundup, which was in its second year. Bustling robots and excited students took over the Laker High School gym for this engaging event. Robotics teams from Lakers (FIRST Robotics, Lego League, underwater ROV, and VEX Robotics teams) and other schools showcased their projects and invited students to try out the robots. A Segway personal transporter wowed participants as they tried it out. Perhaps the most popular attraction was the Sphero Balloon Battle, in which student teams created balloon-bursting robots. Here is a video of the championship round: https://youtu.be/RkOWfT5eT0Y