Tag Archives: STEM

Middle school girls get hands-on introduction to STEM careers

EYH 2015

Students from Burbank MS had a blast at the Expanding Your Horizons conference.

Hundreds of HISD middle school girls spent Sat., Feb. 21, learning about math and science careers at the Expanding Your Horizons conference.

Female professionals talked to students from Black, Burbank, Grady, Henry and Revere middle schools, and the Baylor College of Medicine Academy about a variety of STEM careers. The students worked with a 3-D printer, learned about storing DNA, created cement, and developed butterfly gardens.

The West Harris County Branch of the American Association of University Women hosted the conference.

Coding club students learn how to build computers

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Over the winter break, Lockhart Elementary School hosted a free three-day computer camp for 60 students in a coding club sponsored by Schlumberger, a global technology supplier. The camp was also sponsored by KidsXplore, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching kids about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Students in grades 4-6 learned how to build computers using a new computer platform called Raspberry Pi. The students connected wireless keyboards, monitors and speakers to their CPUs (central processing units).  Once their computers were built, students connected them to a Wi-Fi network where they were able to load Scratch and other computer programming software. Students also participated in a circuits workshop to explore circuit design. Continue reading

Elementary students design 3D toys as holiday gifts for kids

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Students in Herrera Elementary School’s 3D design and print club are designing 3D toys of animated characters from movies like “Frozen” and games such as Angry Birds as holiday presents for children in their community. Continue reading

Students explore similarities of medicine, energy, aerospace at Pumps & Pipes

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Forty HISD students experienced what it would be like to be a surgeon and an engineer at  Pumps and Pipes, where thousands of medicine, energy and aerospace professionals and researchers exchanged ideas and explored crossover technologies in each industry.

“The aerospace, energy and medical fields have different techniques, but they basically use the same concepts,” said Energy Institute High School sophomore Shawn Attar.

Students from Energy, Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan, DeBakey High School for Health Professions, Furr High School, Kashmere High School, Lamar High School, M.C. Williams Middle School, and South Early College High School attended the annual event Monday, Dec. 8 at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. The event is organized by ExxonMobil, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, University of Houston, and NASA. Continue reading

High school students lead STEM lesson for elementary, middle students

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Booker T. Washington High School teacher Dr. Nghia Le and his students recently led hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities for students and parents at Garden Oaks Montessori.

Students collaborated in their efforts to design the perfect landing vehicle for their precious cargo – an egg. Students worked together in small groups and learned that sometimes failure is part of the process for scientists who learn from practice in order to perfect a design.  Continue reading

Computer programming classes teach students how to code, create mobile apps

Schools across district to take part in ‘Hour of Code’ Dec. 8-14

At HISD’s Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan (BCMA), proficiency in computer science is not just encouraged, but expected. The school offers a computer programming course on building web applications as part of the curriculum and as an elective.

“Our goal is to offer this course to every student between grades six through eight,” said BCMA Principal Jyoti Malhan. “A coding class is critical for my students, and the most important reason I offered it is the need for our kids to learn coding and programming to be better prepared for the workforce.”

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Education Rainbow Challenge shows students the excitement of science and math

More than 500 students participate in annual event to boost their interest in STEM subjects, careers

Mathematics and science can be fun! Just ask any one of 500-plus students who participated in the Education Rainbow Challenge at Reagan High School on Saturday, Nov. 15. As part of HISD’s efforts to strengthen students’ skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), more than 500 students competed in two mathematics challenges and participated in science experiments at the annual event. Continue reading

Math and science to take center stage at two weekend events

HISD students to compete at STEM Symposium and Education Rainbow Challenge Nov. 15

As part of HISD’s efforts to strengthen students’ skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), more than 1,500 students are expected to explore future career options in those areas at two weekend events — the HISD STEM Symposium and the Education Rainbow Challenge.

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District’s Petroleum Academies show off their talents at the Shell STEM Showdown

Do you think you can build a geodesic dome from plastic straws and masking tape that will not only stand up, but also hold weight? Students from Milby HS, Westside HS, Energy Institute HS and the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, along with Fort Worth ISD’s Southwest High School, did just that in the spirit of competition at the Viva Technology™ Shell STEM Showdown at the University of Houston.

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Three teams from each school teamed up with university students from UH, UH Downtown, Rice University, Texas A&M, and Texas Christian University. Guided by their college counterparts, the high schoolers competed throughout the day in a series of hands-on exercises designed to stimulate interest in the applications of technology. Continue reading

Baylor Summer Science Institute giving educators new ways to teach old lessons

All are designed to get elementary and middle school students excited about science and STEM careers

The classroom at Herod Elementary School didn’t have any ring stands available, but that didn’t stop the seventh-grade science teachers in it from completing their experiment on heat and energy at the Baylor Summer Science Institute.

The two-week event, which concludes on July 25, focuses on giving elementary and middle school teachers creative ways to deliver lessons on familiar subjects. And participants displayed that same spirit of ingenuity this year in assembling an acceptable substitute for that basic piece of lab equipment—made from a wet cork, some tin foil, and a coat hanger.

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