AIKEN — Petting a live alligator, learning about morse code, trees and honeybees and building a gumdrop dome were among the activities at 37th SEED STEM festival on the University of South Carolina Aiken campus Saturday.
Although all activities were moved inside early on due to the forecast, one could still practically feel the kids’ excitement as they learned about the different topics presented by the staff of the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center.
“They science and I’m getting ready to leave for four months so I wanted to take them to something,” said Ty Hunt who brought his two young daughters. “I never had any of this stuff growing up, so I think it’s really cool. I think it helps get their imagination going – kick their learning into gear.”
Representative from the Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken Beekeepers Association, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and many others participated in the festival to make it even more enjoyable for children.
USDA Forest Service for the Savannah River taught children how tree rings within a trunk show its age, while the Kimberly-Clark Corporation taught paper making.
One of the more popular projects was the Ruth Patrick Center’s straw tower competition. The goal was to build the tallest tower that could hold a tennis ball for 30 seconds.
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Downstairs, with two boys and a daughter, Francis Koepp said she wanted to bring her youngest son who is 5 because of his interest in science.
“He loves it, loves anything science related – that’s why we brought them,” said Koepp after her son pet an alligator. “I think hands-on activities definitely help them understand the material more.”
According to Director of Special Programs at the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center at USC Aiken, John Hutchens, over 2,700 people attended the festival with children ranging from infants to teenagers.
“Our mission here at the Ruth Patrick Center is to infuse a love of science, technology, engineering and math,” he said.
He also touched on the importance the festival has for children who might not think of the traditionally more challenging subjects, like math and science, as fun.
“It introduces STEM to them and then it shows that it’s not so intimidating, that it can be fun and enjoyable. Hopefully they’ll leave here with that experience and keep it in the back of their head,” he said.
Hutchens said activities at the festival change every year and is open to any exhibitors to allow any organization or club to contribute to the event.
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“Some people have come back every year; some of our most popular exhibits, like paper making from Kimberly-Clark, they’re here every year, but then we have new people come every year as well,” he said.
While several students tried to participate in as many activities as possible, others preferred to spend most of the festival talking with those who had similar interests.
Held hostage at the engineering and robotics tables, Valerie Parsons said her son is obsessed with anything that involves hands-on building and creating.
“He loves anything engineering related; I think he might really become an engineer one day. I can’t even get him interested in anything else here. He just wants to sit and talk with these guys over here about robotics,” said Parsons.
Expectant mother, Kim Adams, brought her young daughter because she knew her curiosity would lead her to love the event.
“She’s just so curious. She loves to learn,” said Adams as she and her daughter made their way to the next activity with smiling faces.
Live animals shown at the festival included owls, vultures, snakes, an eagle and turtles, and were invited to pet George the Eastern King Snake.
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Children were able to learn about rescued birds like Raleigh, the barred owl, who was adopted after getting hit by a car and no longer being able to fly properly and catch her own food.
Towards the end of the event, as the animals were packed up and the kids complained of tired feet, families were already promising their children to come back next year when the festival would be held again.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
