{"id":13431,"date":"2014-02-06T13:58:28","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T18:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=13431"},"modified":"2014-02-06T13:58:28","modified_gmt":"2014-02-06T18:58:28","slug":"lift-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/02\/06\/lift-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Lift Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olivia Schiermeyer led fifth graders in a countdown as she manned a miniature rocket launcher at the \u201c3\u20262\u20261 Lift Off\u201d station. Several covered their ears in anticipation of the blast.

\"Sophomore <\/a>
Sophomore Olivia Schiermeyer launches a rocket during STEM Day, which she co-planned as part of UMW\u2019s Honors Program. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sophomore <\/a>
Sophomore Erica Falvey, who co-planned STEM Day, teaches students about electrical current. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Professor <\/a>
Professor of Chemistry and Honors Program Director Kelli Slunt leads a scientific demonstration. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lee <\/a>
Lee Hill Elementary School students learned about chemical reactions, building circuits, engineering and material conductivity during STEM day. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Schiermeyer <\/a>
Schiermeyer helped transform an elementary school gym into a high-tech science lab during STEM Day. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div><\/p>\n

\u201cW-h-o-a-h! That\u2019s so cool!\u201d shouted one student as the paper rocket soared across the Lee Hill Elementary School gymnasium.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great seeing how excited they get when it\u2019s time to launch their rockets,\u201d said Schiermeyer, a University of Mary Washington sophomore biology major, as the next group of amateur rocket designers rushed toward her for their turn.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the gym, sophomore Erica Falvey quizzed another group of students who had gathered close to see if they could pass an electrical current through an orange.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want to try and pass electrical currents through each other?\u201d Falvey asked. Right on cue, a computer screen lit up, indicating conductivity.<\/p>\n

Falvey and Schiermeyer transformed the Spotsylvania County school into a high-tech science lab to encourage budding young scientists. The pair planned and hosted the STEM Day \u2013 science, technology, engineering and math \u2013 as part of their participation in UMW\u2019s Honors Program.<\/p>\n

Falvey and Schiermeyer, along with Professor of Chemistry and Honors Program Director Kelli Slunt and UMW student volunteers, spent their day putting on scientific demonstrations on chemical reactions, building circuits, engineering and material conductivity at different stations for more than 300 third- to fifth-grade students. Students also marveled over a 3D-printer<\/a> demonstration by George Meadows, professor of education.<\/p>\n

Darnella Cunningham, principal of Lee Hill Elementary school, said STEM Day created an opportunity for her kids to review important math and science concepts, all while having fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids loved it. The general reception was overwhelmingly positive,\u201d said Cunningham. \u201cWe\u2019re broadening their experiences and interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falvey and Schiermeyer also wanted to show the wide opportunities that are available to anyone who wants to study STEM.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were really focused on getting girls interested in STEM-related careers because they are often deterred from this path in elementary school,\u201d said Schiermeyer. \u201cI hope they learned that the areas of STEM can be fun and are accessible for both boys and girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falvey and Schiermeyer\u2019s months of planning for STEM Day paid off when the UMW students got to see how much their visit meant to the elementary school students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely learned that the amount of planning that goes into any event is deceiving, and that there is a ton of communication necessary,\u201d said Falvey.<\/p>\n

Communications skills are just one of the benefits that service-learning projects provide to honors students, according to Slunt. In their sophomore year, honors students are required to participate in service learning projects which allow students to help the community while gaining important skills in communication and planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Honors Program requires service learning in order to demonstrate the importance of assisting others as part of their own intellectual and ethical development,\u201d said Slunt.<\/p>\n

The Honors Program<\/a> at UMW was created in 2012 as another way for students to enhance their learning experience and further their academic opportunities. Schiermeyer and Falvey are among 125 students who are in the program.<\/p>\n

Other honors service-learning projects have involved grant writing for Habitat for Humanity, developing a history for a local church and participating with an after school science enrichment program.<\/p>\n

Incoming freshmen are chosen for the Honors Program based on their high school GPA, test scores and the rigorousness of their high school curriculum. Honors students have multiple requirements<\/a> while in the program, including maintaining a high GPA, attending co-curricular events throughout the year and taking a certain number of honors-designated classes each semester.<\/p>\n

While the honors program is only in its second year, Slunt is optimistic about the new program and sees growth and expansion in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that the number of course offerings and opportunities for students will expand,\u201d Slunt said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be neat to see where it goes in the next couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UMW honors students inspire young scientists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":13471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[16,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-13431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"tag-biology","9":"tag-chemistry","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLift Off - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/02\/06\/lift-off\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julia Davis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/06\\\/lift-off\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/06\\\/lift-off\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Julia Davis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/04cecd6ea8db838499f522a0b6b6ee8d\"},\"headline\":\"Lift Off\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-06T18:58:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/06\\\/lift-off\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":660,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/06\\\/lift-off\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/STEM_HP.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"biology\",\"chemistry\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/06\\\/lift-off\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/06\\\/lift-off\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/02\\\/06\\\/lift-off\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lift Off - 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