Fourth graders learn about science and future careers
By Joel Counce jcounce@dailycorinthian.com
A warm fall day allowed for area fourth graders to let off some steam.
The STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Summit invites Alcorn School District fourth graders to the Alcorn Career and Technology Center for games, a hayride and a glimpse into the educational programs available at the county center.
“They put this together to help give our kids a better understanding of what the ACTC is so when they get older, they can decide what class they want to take on the technical side,” said Kossuth fourth grade teacher Ginger Williams. “It is important because they get to choose two routes when they get to high school, they can choose technical or academic. We want them to see the technical side by coming out here.”
The idea for the summit came from a canceled field trip.
“Last year, Kossuth had a field trip scheduled and it got canceled,” said ACTC career and technical education counselor Jennifer Martindale. “They reached out to one of our teachers and said ‘Could y’all do something for us?’ After they reached out, we decided to invite Biggersville and Alcorn Central.”
Students visited each ACTC classroom for crafts, activities and games.
The education prep class hosted “mad about anatomy,” which included making slime; the engineering and information technology class hosted robots and coding stations; culinary arts and family consumer sciences provided a CTE feeding trough with popcorn machine and Koolaid; industrial maintenance and construction classes hosted a hayride, the ag and natural sciences classes hosted a petting zoo; automotive and law and public safety classes provided an ACTC play zone and business, marketing and finance class allowed students to make a paper food truck for a “food truck frenzy” of their choice.
Skylar Mincey has taught the class for seven years.
“I think that it opens their minds to possibilities of career paths at an early age,” she said. “Something like taking a simple craft like making a food truck might open their minds to running their own business someday.”
Each class setup involved some form of art, too, according to Martindale.
“We have a wonderful staff at ACTC and I’m proud to be a part of the center,” she said. “Everyone has gone above and beyond to make it happen.”