Bridge Builders!
Our seventh and eighth graders are building bridges!! Over the past few weeks, they have learned about the four main types of bridges (beam, arch, truss, and suspension) and the different structural components that allow bridges to hold large amounts of weight, such as anchors, abutments, towers, cables, and hangers. Using this information, they were tasked with the job of designing a bridge that would span an eight inch gap while holding as much weight as possible. To build, students were given a specific set of materials, either spaghetti and glue, toothpicks and glue, popsicle sticks, twine, and glue, or cardstock and tape. Using these specific materials, groups of three to four students worked to design a bridge that would enhance the strengths of their materials while also hiding its weak points. The students are hard at work designing and building their bridges! Updates to come.
Below are pictures of our students working through the initial build phase. This was their first opportunity to work with their materials and develop a structural design for their bridge.
STEM Team in the News
Women in STEM Fields to be Featured
11/7/2015 edition of The Daily News
“Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)” will be the topic at the 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, meeting of the Huntingdon Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in Neff Hall in the Von Liebig Center for Science. The public is invited to attend.
A panel of several women in STEM areas will present what it is like to be a woman in her field and how to prepare for a related career. After each panelist has presented a short statement about her career, the floor will be open to questions from the audience.
Panel members will be Samantha “Sam” DeMatteo, a teacher for the required STEM courses at the Huntingdon Area Middle School; Jill Keeney, professor and chair of biology at Juniata College; Uma Ramakrishnan, associate professor of environmental science at Juniata College; Amanda “Mandy” Siglin, director of the health professions program at Juniata College; Nikea Ulrich, a Juniata College student in biochemistry graduating in 2017; and Christine “Chrissy” Whiteman, a Juniata College student in chemistry and chemistry education graduating in 2016.
Judith Benz will be the moderator for the event. Come and learn more about various careers.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Since 1881, AAUW has been one of the nation’s leading voices promoting education and equity for women and girls. AAUW has a nationwide network of more than 100,000 members and donors, 1,000 branches and 500 college/ university institutional partners. Since AAUW’s founding 130 years ago, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic and political. AAUW’s commitment to educational equity is reflected in its public policy advocacy, community programs, leadership development, conventions and conferences, national partnerships and international connections. Call Pat Croissant for further details on membership, 643- 0606.
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STEM Teaching Team
Hello! Welcome to the 7th/8th Grade STEM Webpage. The course overview and our contact information is on the class syllabus, attached here: 7th/8th Grade Syllabus
