For the past several years there has been a huge push to entice students to consider a career in a field that involves science, math, technology or engineering. Over the weekend a large-scale science competition was held at Pearl River Community College that falls right in line with that goal.
During the day-long competition more than 15 schools sent representatives to team up and compete in a variety of events, all for the love of science.
While there were no cash prizes issued to the winning teams, they did receive the bragging rights. And, if they placed first in an event, they will most likely be invited to compete in the state-wide competition.
Unfortunately, only one local school participated in the event, Pearl River Central High School. That team placed in the top three in seven of the 16 events, placing first in the Invasive Species event.
This competition, combined with the FIRST and other robot building events, provide our students with experiences that go beyond what can be taught in a classroom. Having students team up to complete a task using one of the STEM fields additionally provides them with the social interaction that requires working together to succeed.
Some of these students may take away from these competitions a newfound enjoyment in working with chemicals, mathematical formulas or physics to solve complex problems, discovering they may be suited for a career in fields they may have never considered before.
Enabling young minds to solve problems through real world experiences, instead of by reading a book, will inspire a greater outcome.
We hope that next year all three of our local high schools, and junior high schools, will send teams to compete in this worthwhile competition.