Michigan Tech works directly with the STEM programs in the Grand Traverse Area. This includes the Sci-Ma-Tech Program at the Traverse City Area Public Schools (West and Central) an also the Engineering Academy (formerly the Manufacturing Technical Academy) at the Northwest Educational Career Tech Center.
STEAM
Michigan Tech also teaches short STEAM classes in the summer to all K-12 students in the Grand Traverse five county area which includes: Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, and Kalkaska counties. The goal of the STEAM program is to introduce STEM with a sprinkle of art.
Programming
Students get to create their own glowing cloud using science, technology, engineering, math, and art!
One of the classes include programming a microcontroller (like the Arduino Uno) to light up a string of multi-color light emitting diodes. Once the students learn a little computer programming, they can make the lights do a variety of patterns and colors in sequence. The string is wrapped around some lanterns and then covered in a cotton-like polyester layer. The illusion is a floating cloud.
After the week-long class the students learn programming, breadboard circuit construction, and the creation of a piece of dynamic art that they can take home. The class is taught at the Northwestern Michigan College “College for Kids” program, at the Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS), and at the Engineering Academy, part of Northwest Educational Services.
Fizzy Painting
STEAM classes can also be taught without computers.
Michigan Tech taught classes at the Grand Traverse Conservation District, Boardman River Nature Center this past summer. For science, the students painted with household “safe” items like water color dye, baking soda, glue sticks, and lemon juice. The result is called “fizzy painting” because of the reaction of the baking soda (a base) with lemon juice (an acid).
Other STEAM Projects
Another popular activity was identifying rocks and minerals of Michigan.
After a short walk around the Nature Center and picking up pretty rocks, the students played a rock identification memory game, and were told what type of rock that they had found. We also had rock ink stamps that the students could use to make images of Petoskey stones, Chain Coral, and Agates. This turned out to be one of the most popular activity of the week.
Other activities included tin foil boats, origami animals, food coloring flowers, and studying math in art and nature (for example the fibonacci spiral).