The nine-year-old Delran STEM Fair returns on Monday, May 18.
With a theme of “The STEM of Music and Art,” the Delran STEM Ecosystem Alliance – in collaboration with Delran schools – is in the midst of putting all the pieces together for the popular annual event.
Ahead of the fair, Erica DeMichele, K-12 supervisor of Science, Technology, Engineering, Sustainability and Co-STEM in Delran schools, sought out vendors who identify and inspire in the work of music and art.
The district had a successful STEM Fair last May that saw 600 community partners, businesses, student organizations and families enjoying food and demonstrations from 45 vendors. A planetarium, a smart car showcase, and fun demonstrations engaged kids of all ages.
The annual event showcases STEM throughout the Delran community, featuring student work from all schools, local community organizations and local businesses and partners.
A recap of the eighth annual STEM Fair is at www.delranstem.org. Some of the hands-on activities included creating slot cars in the FabLab, creating slime and compost, and demonstrations of simple and complex machines producing chain reactions from each school’s robotics team.
One of the fair’s features, Marketa’s Journey, honors the life of Marketa McCabe with annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) scholarships. The nonprofit is in memory of McCabe, an engineering student who advocated for under-represented women in STEM fields.
In McCabe’s memory, there are annual scholarships, nature and conservation efforts, and general awareness of impactful scientific research. Last year, Delran High senior Iris Li, a STEMbassador, was awarded a scholarship. She had been inspired about McCabe’s life and service.
Many community organizations provided information on a variety of topics at the fair. Some popular tables included Green Teams; Delran Chickens; and the Burlington County Parks System, with emphasis on the environment. Other groups offered career connections and demonstrations, including a popular demonstration by Lockheed Martin of a Tesla coil and Van de Graaff generator to demonstrate static electricity.
Some fair stations were truly out of this world, such as the mobile inflatable Star lab, which provided participants an immersive astronomy experience.
Delran High senior Iris Li was awarded the Marketa’s Journey STEM scholarship last year. It honors the memory of McCabe, an engineering student who advocated for under-represented women in STEM fields.
