University City Students Show Off Drones And Robots At STEM Expo

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — More than 70 student-led clubs, community organizations and other groups packed the gym at Brittany Woods Middle School Wednesday night to show off their knowledge and technical skills. The school district's second annual STEM Expo drew hundreds of students, parents and community members curious to see the robots, drones and Lego creations the local kids have been working on all year.

STEM — an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — has been integrated throughout the district's curriculum, officials said. Experts say STEM education teaches complex thinking and problem-solving skills. STEM jobs make up almost 20 percent of the U.S. economy and people with STEM degrees earn higher incomes, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

(For more stories like this, subscribe to Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. You can also download the free Patch app for iPhone and Android.)

"In the 21st century, scientific and technological innovations have become increasingly important as we face the benefits and challenges of both globalization and a knowledge-based economy," according to the National Science Foundation's National Action Plan published in 2007. "To succeed in this new information-based and highly technological society, students need to develop their capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past."

Officials said the U. City STEM Expo — one of the largest school-based STEM fairs in the St. Louis region — is designed to bring together students of various grade levels as well as community partners such as Ameren, Washington University, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Bayer, the National Society of Black Engineers, the St. Louis Science Center and others.

One student group present was University City High School's competitive robotics team, the Robolions. They showed off their latest creation to curious parents and classmates alike.

Some students specialize in programming, while others design the robot or learn to drive it, but all must learn to work together for the robot to ultimately succeed, team members said.

Fifteen-year-old Kenwyn Jones, a sophomore, started the robotics team in 8th grade and rejoined his freshman year after a brief hiatus.

"I like the design aspect [of robotics]," he said. "I want to become an architect, so when it came to designing the robot, I really gravitated toward that."

"What we do is learn each of the body systems, but we show their integration and how they rely on each other to function," said their teacher, Sherry Wibben. "So, [the students] build, they problem solve, and that's the premise of the class."

Girls Who Code, a Washington University student-run organization, was also at the STEM Expo, recruiting girls to their program.

"We teach middle school and high school girls the basics of computer science," said one of the group's representatives, Maya Coyle. "We're looking to get more girls interested in the industry, and we do that through website building, app development, and teaching the building blocks so they will be on the path to higher-level classes."

She said the group has started a weekend club for middle and high school-aged girls at Wash U and two afterschool clubs at local middle schools. They're hoping to recruit girls who are interested in joining a new club at Brittany Woods Middle School.

"We're hoping to expand and open clubs at more middle schools and high schools in the area," Coyle continued. "And we think U. City would be a great place to start because it's so close. And there's been a lot of demonstrated interest. At our Wash U club, a lot of the girls are from Brittany Woods."

Flynn Park third-grader Katherine Zustiak designed and built a robotic dance party out of Legos.

"We make this light on here change colors, then we have it turn around and do that for five seconds, and then we have it change a different color...and it keeps doing that over and over," she said, adding that it only took her about 15 minutes to learn.

"Well, how long did we work on this project?" her teacher, Kathy Plum, interjected.

A little longer than 15 minutes, Katherine confessed.

Officials said there were about 400 people at the inaugural STEM Expo in 2017, and there appeared to be at least that number present Wednesday night.

"This [was] the perfect opportunity for parents to see what their children are being taught and what is being learned in our schools," said superintendent Sharonica Hardin-Bartley. "We hope the array of activities highlighting state-of-the-art, innovative breakthroughs in STEM will lead to more excitement and more students choosing these career paths."

For more information, visit: ucityschools.org/stemexpo.

Lede Photo: Air Force Junior ROTC cadets Emmett Feld and Zev Schwab, members of the Flyin' Lions drone club, demonstrate their piloting skills at a STEM Expo held Wednesday night at Brittany Woods Middle School. (All photos by J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)