TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Independent School District will be hosting a district-wide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event leading up to National STEM Day next week. The event is called “Building Pathways with STEM” and will be held Wednesday, November 5th, from 5:00-7:00 pm in the Career and Technical Education wing at Temple High School.
The STEM event will feature the partnership between the district’s digital learning department, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department, and counseling department by bringing those resources together in one showcase. There will be career learning stations staffed by Temple ISD educators and Temple ISD STEM student ambassadors. Those stations will feature STEM-related activities and technology, highlighted by Lego Spike, Vex IQ, Quest VR goggles, drones, and the Invention Project by Camp Invention. The Temple College STEM Bus will also be on site. Those stations will allow students and their families to get hands-on experiences with some of the technology and resources available across the district.
There will also be BEST Robotics demonstrations with three elementary school robotics teams, two middle school robotics teams, and the high school robotics team on hand. Those groups will share projects from the school year and demonstrate competition robots as Temple ISD prepares to host a BEST Robotics competition on November 8th.
The Temple High School counseling department will also be on hand to discuss career pathway options with students and their families. The counselors are partnering with the event to help highlight how STEM education can be incorporated into CTE and elective choices as students move into high school. That is another key goal of the event, to help bridge the gap to College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) and give younger students and their families exposure to middle school and high school offerings.
The “Building Pathways with STEM” event is part of a week of STEM activities across the district leading up to National STEM Day on November 8th.
“We want to showcase the STEM opportunities that we have across the district and really build on the pathways that we are providing to students in kindergarten through 12th grade,” said Ashley Jones, director of digital learning for Temple ISD. “We really want to engage our families in those opportunities so that as emerging technology grows, as new career opportunities come about, and as education is adjusting to career readiness, we are getting feedback from our families that are involved in that transition. It is really exciting this year to be able to highlight the partnership and collaboration with our CTE and counseling departments, and it will be a good way to ensure that we are reaching all students and all families.”
Organizers are also using the event to get younger students and their families into the CTE wing, many of them for the first time. The goal is to continue to build bridges across the district from grades K-12 to promote the ways STEM education ties into the opportunities available in Temple’s CTE Department, also known as the Wildcat Workforce. Those opportunities can then continue beyond graduation and into college or the workforce.
“The Wildcat Workforce offers 17 different programs of study, many of which have strong correlation to STEM,” added Sara Bartlett, director of Career and Technical Education for Temple ISD. “Our goal is to expand opportunities to reach students at all ages, which is why we have partnered with other groups and campuses for this event. We will have engaging, fun activities for all ages.”
The event is free and open to the public. The Temple High School culinary arts department will also have food available during the evening. Attendees are encouraged to park in the CTE parking at the back of the high school to enter the “Building Pathways with STEM” event.