Staff photo / Bob Coupland
Kenneth Miller, 10, seated, and Karston Long, 10, both fifth-graders from Lincoln K-8 School in Warren, work on coding and programming a robot in one of the career exploration programs offered.
LORDSTOWN — Students in grades 4-7 throughout schools in Trumbull County have spent the first semester experiencing new skills and career pathways as part of the annual STEAM program.
The science, technology, engineering, arts and math program hosted from September through November helps students discover their passions and explore potential career paths.
The program is provided by the Trumbull County Educational Service Center.
STEAM Coordinator Kerrie Wiand said there are career discovery carts for different career areas that students can select to take part in.
“The career carts allow students to explore welding, carpentry, manufacturing and automotive. These are some of the areas where career opportunities will be available,” Wiand said.
Instructors use the carts and the various items on them to show students what a person in a particular career field would do at work.
Other careers to explore are coding and robotics, entrepreneurship,mixed media, performing arts and engineering.
“Students are able to use different technologies to explore different pathways as well as their own creativity and their ability to work with students from other school systems from across Trumbull County,” Wiand said. “The students like getting to meet students from other schools.”
The 160 students get to choose two pathways to be part of over 10 weeks.
Some students attend on Tuesdays and the others attend on Wednesdays.
Wiand said over the years the program has expanded, starting first as Arts Excel and then becoming STEAM nine years ago.
The students will showcase what they have learned to family and the public from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Lordstown High School.
The performing arts will be showing what they have learned at 5 p.m.
“We encourage families to come in and explore the classes their children were a part of for 10 weeks. They show what they have learned and what projects they have done,” Wiand said.
She said students can return to the program for more than one year and can be in the same pathway or select a new one.
“I like the program because it allows the children to dive into their interests and be able to explore maybe something they haven’t had at their home school or be able to explore it further at their home school,” Wiand said. “These are activities the children become passionate about.”
In an engineering class, students learn of the different design process
Dana Butto, assistant STEAM coordinator, said what is intertwined in all the pathways and whatever the students do is being creative and the opportunity to meet students from other schools.
She said the program provides a chance for children in rural schools to meet students from urban and suburban schools and work together on activities of similar career pathway interests.
“The students have different experiences and come together and share ideas. This provides an opportunity to collaborate together with someone they have not known,” Wiand said.
Joseph Jeswald, a retired Girard administrator and teacher, is one of the instructors showing students a career pathway on how NASA uses solar energy on the moon.
“The students get to take part in hands-on learning with the equipment and tools from each career pathway,” he said.
WHAT STUDENTS THINK
Kathryn Miller, 10, a fifth-grader from Lakeview, said she selected mixed media and engineering as her two pathways.
“I like that we get to explore and use 3D printers and clay,” she said.
Lily Gordon, 10, a fourth-grader from Howland, said the different pathways allow for use of different machines and equipment.
Karston Long, 10, a fifth-grader from Lincoln K-8 School in Warren, said he would like to be an astronaut and feels seeing what they do as part of their job helps him to decide if this is the career he would like.
“I have been working with coding and designing a robot and programming it to different things,” Long said.
Kenneth Miller, 10, a fifth-grader from Lincoln K-8 School, said he wants to study astronomy.
“Getting to build and program robots lets me see what works and doesn’t work. You can make changes if something doesn’t work,” he said.
Miller said in addition to learning, he likes knowing he has made new friends.
For the performing arts pathways, Madeline Grayhorn, a sixth-grader from Howland, said she likes the ability to get to act and for the students to put together and perform a play.
“I have learned so many things being part of this program. We get to show our parents what we have learned,” Grayhorn said.