Students Deep-Dive into STEM

9th graders Maddy Mechling and Keely Lipka participate in the biology activity during the STEM Summit by Junior Achievement on Jan. 20. This was the first STEM Summit hosted by the high school since 2020. The STEM summit is an opportunity for freshmen to learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math careers. Students complete tasks such as building a circuit, creating a water filter, combining c...

Students work together to wire a circuit at the electrical station. “I volunteer because I think it's great for the community to help students learn what they like [versus] what they don’t and how that can be applied to careers,” said JA electrical station volunteer. Photograph by Kate Ball

Volunteer Kevin Clapp instructs freshmen Sienna Wanderer and Hailey Thompson on how to make music using physics. Students were challenged to play music  with a flip-flop and pipes. Students were given math problems to find the wavelengths of the music notes. Photograph by Kate Ball...

At the engineering station, students build a spaghetti tower using innovation. Groups were challenged to build the highest tower. To complete the task each group was given 25 pieces of spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, and a marshmallow. Photograph by Kate Ball

Table mates help each other to pour green foam from a mixing cup and into a plastic glove. The entire freshman class was divided into eight groups. And then for each station, groups were broken into smaller teams to complete each STEM challenge. Photograph by Kate Ball

Lauren Kalmanowicz plays music notes with unconventional tools. “My favorite station has been the physics station because I learned to play Mary Had a Little Lamb using math” said Kalmanowicz. Photograph by Kate Ball

A student at the engineering station uses a coffee filter and rubber bands as part of their filtration system to  extract dirt from water. Throughout the day students were informed about the  various careers that involve science, technology, engineering and math; including: physicist, economist, cryptographer, financial analyst, aerospace engineer. Photograph by Kate Ball...

Students use fake urine to determine disease in patients. “I have been a volunteer for this Junior Achievement STEM program for over 10 years and I continue to do it because it's important for kids to be exposed to these kinds of careers,” said volunteer Laurie Dryden. Photograph by Kate Ball

Table mates help each other to pour green foam from a mixing cup and into a plastic glove. The entire freshman class was divided into eight groups. And then for each station, groups were broken into smaller teams to complete each STEM challenge. Photograph by Kate Ball

Freshmen Eli Allison, Cooper Friendly, Patrick O'Brian, and Jacob Iwanowicz work together to build a roller coaster at the physics station of the JA STEM Summit.  Photograph by Kate Ball

A group of students work to figure out the music activity at the physics station of the STEM Summit. For this experiment, the sounds are created from a variety of different length pipes. The longer pipes created a lower sound and the short pipes produced a higher sound and when put together in the right order, created a piece of music. Photograph by Cam Smyth...

A group of freshmen finish the electrical activity with Junior Achievement and successfully turn on a light bulb. Groups were tasked with rearranging wires inside of the electrical box to complete a circuit and power the light bulb. Photograph by Cam Smyth

Volunteers for the Chemistry activity from Junior Achievement instruct freshmen on their next activity. In this activity students mix polymers in a plastic glove to create hand-shaped mold. Photograph by Cam Smyth

Thaddeus Stevens College professor Judd Pittman runs a water filter activity that has been done at over 40 Junior Achievement sessions. Pittman explains the science behind using various porous materials to construct the water filtration system. Photograph by Cam Smyth

Freshman Eli Allison works on the electrical activity  to help his group turn on the light bulb. Junior Achievement, founded in 1919, is an organization dedicated to bettering the knowledge of young students across the nation. Photograph by Cam Smyth

Volunteer Kevin Clapp instructs students on the physics activity at the STEM Summit. For this activity, students use flip-flops to hit tubes with different length to create musical notes. Photograph by Cam Smyth

Thaddeus Stevens College professor Judd Pittman instructs a group of freshmen on the water filtration activity. Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is a technical school in Lancaster that offers 22 different academic programs. Photograph by Cam Smyth

Thaddeus Stevens professor Judd Pittman and SHS science teacher Nick DeLuca direct students with the water filter activity. In the water filter activity, students learned about the connection between healthy soil and healthy water, and how these variables can affect plant growth. Photograph by Cam Smyth...

Volunteers for the electrical station explain a wiring activity to their next group of students. From jobs like electricians to mechanical engineers, the  Junior Achievement STEM Summit gave students insight into some of the careers students can expect in the STEM field. Photograph by Cam Smyth...

Students build a roller coaster using pipe insulation and a metal ball in the physics activity from Junior Achievement. The physics activity helped students get a better understanding of key concepts in the physics world such as gravity, and potential and kinetic energy. Photograph by Cam Smyth