Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
From Friday, March 24, through Monday, March 27, students from all grades from across the Madison County School District displayed Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) projects in the Madison County Central School (MCCS) gymnasium. Although the projects covered a wide range, they had a central theme of increasing bio-diversity in the State of Florida. Students of all levels were tasked with defining an existing, real world problem having to do with bio-diversity and developing a possible solution to that problem.
The projects were made possible with assistance from the Madison Rotary Club, which helped provide materials for the projects. The Madison Rotary Club will also help provide funding of up to $100 per project to the teachers of the winning students. This will allow the students to further develop and build a working prototype of their projects.
“The kids really got excited about their projects,” said Madison County STEM Program Coordinator Nancy Varn. “This has been very empowering for the students. Some students may be thinking, 'What can I do [to solve a big problem]?' But these projects have shown them they can take a small step toward a solution, and that can help make progress toward a larger solution.”
Some of the many topics the students covered included:
• Eradication of Burmese pythons in South Florida
• Helping sea turtle hatchlings move from the beach to the water
• Increasing habitat for bats, monarch butterflies, etc.
• Mitigating the risks of leaks from the natural gas pipeline in Florida
The students worked for approximately five months on their projects, with much of that time spent on research. The winners
will be announced in early to mid April.