Wicked STEM was wicked engaging for kids and young-at-heart mentors
Sep. 22—MILFORD — The Emporium teemed with robots, gadgets, computers and experiments that demonstrated the fundamentals of biotechnology. But it was impossible to miss Boxy, the robotic dog jumping up and down at the front door.
Boxy wasn't your average canine greeter. But that didn't matter to Lucien Laliberte, a seventh grader from Amherst.
"My mission is to pat every dog in the world, and this is one of them," he said. "I'd like to be a scientist if I get the chance. I just love robots in general."
He came to the right place.
On Saturday, the Hampshire Dome was the stage for Wicked STEM, an all-New England festival of what's happening and what is possible in science and technology, including in education and careers for young people. More than 1,000 people showed up in six hours — more if you counted sponsors and exhibitors.
"It's to expose Northern New England to all things accessible to kids from a young age to college age," from STEM programs in school through college majors, said Billy Wilson, marketing director for the New Hampshire Union Leader, which puts on the annual event.
Hassiba Benzerrouk, 12, of Windham, a member of the Saucy Blue Box robotics team at school, used a box controller to make Boxy roll over, sit up and shake paws.
"We want to show how important robotics are in your life," Benzerrouk said. Being on a robotics team "gives me a chance to show my creativity, meet new people and travel to events where I can learn new things, including from my coach."
'I want my revenge'
Nearby, six children in middle and elementary school plus one transfixed 2-year-old watched or played Freeze Tag, a Vex robotics game invented by Spark Academy of Advanced Technology in Manchester. It was a tense floor match of miniature bumper cars with sensors mounted on back.
"I want my revenge, Spark 3!" shouted a middle schooler whose vehicle suddenly froze in place.
"It's a way to get kids excited about interacting with robots," said John Tuttle, director of Spark Academy. "Kids are starting very much younger, some in second grade," and there's a big focus on middle school and high school.
"STEM Ed is a powerful tool for shaping the future," said Chris Rake, executive vice president and chief operating officer at FIRST, a nonprofit that inspires kids and teens to pursue careers in science, technology and engineering. "A critical part of this formula are caring adults and mentors who guide you along the way."
At a demonstration of Bio Fab USA's 'Tissue Foundry,' children peered at a pig heart that had been stripped of its pig cells in preparation for human stem cells to be implanted in order to bioengineer a human heart — a manufactured organ that someday might ease the long wait for heart transplants. A much smaller vial held manufactured red blood cells — a potential substitute for human blood donations.
A girl who was about 4 years old used a pipette to move imitation liquid cells to spots on a small board of colored dots.
"She's got a tool in her hands, and she's doing science," said Christy Johnson, director of education and Workforce development for Bio Fab USA.
Inside the traveling STEM MoBILE, which gives schoolchildren hands-on exposure to science and bioengineering, kids were moving drops of aloe vera with food coloring to trays with designs of kidneys, hearts in a mock demonstration of what happens in 3-D printing.
"Kids like hands-on, messy science," said Sydney Rollins, the STEM MoBILE project manager. "They like using lab equipment they don't ordinarily get to play with. I let them push all the buttons and turn all the dials."
In a section that could be described as Rube Goldberg alley, Zach Umperovitch, a Rube Goldberg machine expert and co-host of "Contraption Masters" on the Discovery channel, introduced complex, chain reaction thingama-whatsits created from ordinary household objects to perform simple tasks — such as pour a glass of water or trap a mouse.
Named for a 1900s cartoonist famous for his drawings of funny, fantasy inventions, Rube Goldberg machines are used today to teach and instill a love of engineering, Umperovitch said.
"It's the easiest and cheapest activity for kids to be involved in" that introduces design, problem-solving and creative thinking, he said. "These are everyday objects that people have lying around the house."
A mouse trap was fabricated from a chair, a broom and a laundry basket. A floor sweeper was constructed with a fan, a vacuum cleaner and cat litter.
"I've been doing this since I was 3 years old, taking a bunch of random things" and making things happen through a cascade of interactions, he said.
Wicked STEM was sponsored by the University System of New Hampshire, the Community College System of New Hampshire, Fidelity, Society Of American Military Engineers Boston Post, New Hampshire Life Sciences, New Hampshire Army National Guard and NH Tech Alliance.
