The Amazing Race
Local female sophomores got the chance to explore STEM fields when Wilkes University’s Society of Women Engineers hosted The Amazing Race on Friday, March 16, 2018. The event ran from 9 A.M. – 1P.M. in the Arnaud C. Marts, Sports & Conference Center. Forty students participated from Greater Nanticoke Area, Wilkes-Barre Area STEM Academy, Wyoming Valley West, and Crestwood high schools. The Wilkes students hosting the event explained that they selected tenth graders for the event as it becomes a decisive year in deciding to pursue the STEM fields. Audrey Wood, president of the Wilkes chapter of Society of Women Engineers, explained, “We wanted to give females in high school an opportunity they may not be provided with in their schools to see how great STEM fields are and how amazing it would be to have more women involved in those fields.”
At the event, students were teamed up with students from other schools and had to work collaboratively to complete a series of five challenges.
- Space Lander: Students will create an apparatus to protect a marshmallow from falling out of the vessel when dropped from five feet to demonstrate the power of gravity and impact forces.
- Roller Coaster Design: Students will learn about physics topics such as kinetic and potential energy, inertia and momentum.
- Programming: Students will decode a message to gain some familiarity with binary code used in computer programming.
- Rubber Band Car: Using a variety of materials to design and construct a car, students will then compare how far each car can go to expose the participants to multiple aspects of engineering.
- Water Filtration: Using a limited number of supplies to remove color, odor, suspended solids and acidic chemicals from a waste stream, the students will learn how science and engineering can help clean the environment in a variety of ways.
Students also participated in a question-and-answer session with an admissions representative then, following lunch, the event concluded with closing remarks and awards for the first team to complete all the challenges, the best rubber band car, and the best water filtration system. All students that participated received a tee shirt as well as gift bag.
Greater Nanticoke Area Students who participated are:
Lillian Galazin (Award for 1st team complete)
Lily Kratz (Award for best water filtration)
Gabriella Proleika (Award for best rubber band car)
Mackenzie Casey
Kaleigh Hamm
Amber Kalinowski
Isabella Kropiewnicki
Stephanie Layland
Katie Ward
Deyonna Wood
I am glad that I had the opportunity to chaperone the students to this worthwhile event.
Thank You,
Mrs. Michele Wisniewski
Greater Nanticoke High School
