Full STEAM ahead!

Elmwood

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This article was published 18/12/2024 (457 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The curious mind knows no bounds.

On Dec. 7, Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute hosted its second annual Full STEAM Ahead, a co-curricular science symposium for middle- and high-school students. This year, 19 students created 13 projects that covered a wide variety of subjects.

“The idea is to provide an opportunity to innovate and explore and be creative in something passionate, something they care about, independent of any grades or mark,” explained Andrew S. Hiebert, senior science teacher at MBCI and one of the co-ordinators of the event. “It’s an opportunity for students to dive into their passions and do something valuable they can share with the community.”

From internal combustion engines to coding, vermicular compost to black holes, students took time outside of the classroom to research and create their projects for the event.

“It’s a co-curricular experience,” Hiebert said. “It augments and strengthens what students are learning in class, and a way to allow students to connect with individuals outside of school. At MBCI, we’re trying to create a place where students can live life well. This shows how their learning can extend way beyond the walls of the school.”

Rosie Rewucki, a Grade 6 student at MBCI, took home the top prize — which included $500 — for her project on cold neuropathy, a condition in which blood flow slows in a body’s extremities, such as fingers and toes. She was inspired to research the subject by her grandmother, who suffered from cold neuropathy as a side-effect of undergoing chemotherapy.

“At one point her ankles swelled up like golf balls. In the summer she’d be wearing big sweaters at the cabin,” Rewucki said. “It was difficult to watch her suffer, so I wanted to help her.”

Rewucki created an apparatus to help those dealing with cold neuropathy regain or maintain feeling in their extremities, which her grandmother tested. One side of the apparatus, Rewucki explained, was made up of beads on fishing line, while the other side was cloth.

“She said it was not only helpful, but fun to do,” Rewucki said. “She has these bean bags she’d heat up in the microwave, so after she let the heat soak in, she’d roll her hands back and forth over the beads on fishing line. Then she’d pinch the cloth and let go for a few minutes.”

The experience at Full STEAM Ahead is one she would recommend to her fellow students, Rewucki said, and she hopes to take part again next year.

“I learned a lot about cold neuropathy. I also learned that even though things might seem bad, you can do stuff to help prevent it from getting worse,” she said. “It definitely was a lot of work, but it was so much fun when you see the effort and work you put into the project comes together. Everyone’s projects were so good. I was really impressed.”

“We want to help kids discover what they’re passionate about it realize that in some way,” Hiebert added.