Penn College News

Young audience absorbed by STEM-onstrations

Friday, February 22, 2019

Organizations from across the region came together on Thursday on the Penn College campus to provide fun and educational activities in science, technology, engineering and math for elementary- and middle-school students. Families were invited to an evening event in the Field House, and during the day, fifth-graders from many area schools attended a sneak preview that also included a live science show by The Franklin Institute and the School of Business & Hospitality’s popular “Taste of Technology” presentation – complete with fun and delicious demonstrations of physical and chemical phase changes in food – by Chef Frank M. Suchwala, associate professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, and baking and culinary arts students. Students and employees from several other Penn College academic programs also participated. The event is coordinated on campus by the Office of College Transitions and First Year Initiatives and sponsored by Penn College, Lycoming College and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.


– Photos by Jennifer A. Cline, writer/magazine editor




 

 

 During a presentation by The Franklin Institute, fifth-graders discovered how nutrients in the food we eat are converted into the energy that keeps us on the go.

During a presentation by The Franklin Institute, fifth-graders discovered how nutrients in the food we eat are converted into the energy that keeps us on the go.

Children learn how thoughts jump from neuron to neuron as electrical impulses to make our muscles move.

Children learn how thoughts jump from neuron to neuron as electrical impulses to make our muscles move.

Camp Susque provides a lesson in beekeeping.

Camp Susque provides a lesson in beekeeping.

Fifth-graders traverse the mall, from a “Taste of Technology” presentation in the Klump Academic Center to a whirlwind of activities in the Field House made possible by local businesses, schools and community organizations.

Fifth-graders traverse the mall, from a “Taste of Technology” presentation in the Klump Academic Center to a whirlwind of activities in the Field House made possible by local businesses, schools and community organizations.

Jon R. German, an electrical technology student from West Grove, engages students in a race – which uses a time delay – to see who can hit their button the quickest, on cue, to light green, yellow or red light on a traffic signal.

Jon R. German, an electrical technology student from West Grove, engages students in a race – which uses a time delay – to see who can hit their button the quickest, on cue, to light green, yellow or red light on a traffic signal.

Charles P. Sessa Jr., a construction management student from Trafford, provides learning activities that literally allow children to get their hands dirty while learning the importance of soil in construction.

Charles P. Sessa Jr., a construction management student from Trafford, provides learning activities that literally allow children to get their hands dirty while learning the importance of soil in construction.

A pupil from the Sullivan County School District learns the principles of pneumatics, courtesy of West Pharmaceutical Services.

A pupil from the Sullivan County School District learns the principles of pneumatics, courtesy of West Pharmaceutical Services.

Guided by Brennan B. Wodrig, Plastics Innovation & Resource Center manager and a 2011 Penn College graduate, students from the Muncy School District examine a part produced on-site by a mobile rotational molder.

Guided by Brennan B. Wodrig, Plastics Innovation & Resource Center manager and a 2011 Penn College graduate, students from the Muncy School District examine a part produced on-site by a mobile rotational molder.

A child from the Loyalsock Township School District mixes a polymer – a slime that participants took home as souvenirs – thanks to the Society of Plastics Engineers PlastiVan.

A child from the Loyalsock Township School District mixes a polymer – a slime that participants took home as souvenirs – thanks to the Society of Plastics Engineers PlastiVan.

Children from East Lycoming School District watch and ask questions as a cockroach crawls around the hand of a demonstrator from Penn State Extension.

Children from East Lycoming School District watch and ask questions as a cockroach crawls around the hand of a demonstrator from Penn State Extension.