Students, parents enjoy Science Night at Stanfield Elementary

Published 8:21 am Thursday, February 28, 2019

Children and parents interacted with numerous hands-on activities at Stanfield Elementary School Tuesday night that were designed to help them explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Stanfield Elementary was one of 170 North Carolina elementary schools selected to host the Duke Energy Science Night program.

There were 10 science and technology stations throughout the school that students and parents could visit, including constructing a roller coaster for marbles, creating paper flying machines and gas-powered rockets and attaching magnets to toy cars to move them around.

The school applied for and received a grant from the Duke Energy Foundation, said Kim Linker, the third-grade science teacher who applied for the grant.

The foundation then sent all the materials for the stations pre-packaged and with directions. The school just had to set up the stations and assign teachers to each station.

The Duke Energy Foundation seeks to power communities through investments in high-performing, sustainable initiatives that emphasize STEM, including programs that help create greater access to and participation in STEM-related informal and out-of-school educational opportunities.

The stations help the kids create things and utilizes their problem-solving skills, Linker said.

“It involves so many different parts of the curriculum,” she said, including math, science, reading and following directions.

Left to Right: Stanfield Elementary students Joseph Whitley, Cayden Osborne, Jordan Smith, James Whitley and Aiden Smith constructing a roller coaster for marbles. This is part of the Duke Energy Science Night at the school.

This event “just gets the kids excited about math and science,” said Julie Huneycutt, the school’s curriculum coach.

“It helps them learn to love science and think through things,” she said.

Fourth-grade student Levi Lloyd enjoyed the stations. He likes the “fun experiments” he can do in science and likes working on multiplication in math.

“I love the hands-on activities,” mother Natalie Lloyd said. “It’s a fun way to learn.”

“The event teaches the kids how to interact with each other and build things on their own,” added Demetrius Ingram, parent to third-grade student Mason Jackson.

Principal Jessie Morton said the event presents an opportunity “to have the parents and teachers interact with one another in a fun and positive environment.”

“We are very thankful for Mrs. Linker,” Morton said. “When a teacher has joy for teaching a subject, the kids have joy about the subject.”

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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