Students attend STEMsmart Summit
SUN PHOTO BY ANNE KLOCKENKEMPER, annek@sun-herald.com
Heron Creek Middle School seventh graders Brooke Fisher, 13, left, and Taylor Auer, 12, wait to see what color the flame will become as they burn a small amount of copper nitrate Saturday morning during the "Colors of Fireworks and Slippery SLIME" session at the STEMsmart Summit held at State College of Florida's Venice campus.
SUN PHOTO BY ANNE KLOCKENKEMPER, annek@sun-herald.com
From left, North Port High School freshman Cameron Peters, 12, NPHS junior Daniel Morales, 17, and Patrizio Murdocca, 14, a freshman at Venice High School, question Silicon Valley strategist Salim Ismail, right, during the STEMsmart Summit, asking him about the potential for technological development and how the world might change over the next 10-20 years. Ismail talked about a possible future with autonomous, one-use vehicles and where it will be critical everyone have an understanding of technology, if only to use computers in their homes.
SUN PHOTO BY ANNE KLOCKENKEMPER, annek@sun-herald.com
SCF Venice adjunct instructor Aron Lemon, left, demonstrates how to inject DNA for gel electrophoresis to Ashlyn Downey-Hayes, 11, a sixth grader at Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences, SKY Academy sixth-grade student Brianna Trecartin, 11, and Andrea Stultz, 12, a Venice Middle School seventh grader, during Saturday's STEMsmart Summit hosted by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.
SOUTH VENICE — On Saturday, 220 area middle and high school students spent the day at State College of Florida’s Venice campus as part of a fun and educational science and technology summit, to which the Gulf Coast Community Foundation played host.
The STEMsmart Summit, part of the STEMsmart initiative, culminated STEMsmart week, which ran Feb. 13-18. The initiative, made possible by a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the GCCF, aims to increase student participation and inspire them to seek careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Students from eight schools — Laurel-Nokomis, Venice, Heron Creek, Woodland and L.A. Ainger middle schools; and Venice, North Port and Lemon Bay high schools — signed up for four, hourlong classes focusing on different STEM concepts.
