STEM SEALs News

Summer Institute 2023: The LAND Challenge was attended by 32 students and eleven local educators from eight surrounding counties. Students were immersed in a six-day hands-on STEM camp where they engineered, wrote code, and tested a land rover. They learned to remotely control the rover and to program it to navigate autonomously through various maneuvers and courses. On the last day, students competed with their peers to showcase the skills they had learned throughout the camp.

Presentation of the STEM SEALs research project at the Annual Conference for Principal Investigators for STEM Education Research of the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC.

The Teacher Review Team and Expert Team convened during a Saturday workshop to make a final review and any revisions to the LAND Challenge materials in preparation for the Summer Institute.

The AIR Summer Institute was a success beyond expectations. 32 students from eight surrounding counties were able to use college classrooms in the Science Building and the basketball court in the Colin P. Kelly Fitness Center for flying airplanes using a flight simulator, writing code for aerial navigation, building drone attachments, flying drones, - and parents and friends could watch and cheer on the last day's competition events.

Expert Team completes acquisition and creation of materials including printing the AIR Lectionary.

Teachers Review Team completes final review of materials and meet with the Expert Team for one Saturday workshop to discuss potential obstacles.

Teachers participate in monthly Saturday meetings and form the Design Team providing guidelines for SEA, AIR and LAND challenges.

Summer Institute SEA was a full success. Students were able to use NFC classrooms, gazebos and the shores Lake Osceola for building, coding, testing and improving their boats - and parents and friends could watch and cheer on the last day's competition events.

Expert Team members attend and present at the PI (Principal Investigator) Conference of the NSF Directorate for research in education from pre-K to 12th grade.

Review Team worked out successfully the final version of the materials for the SEA Challenge.

Expert Team members attend and present at the 2021 STEM For All Video Showcase.

Expert Team members attend and present at the IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC '21)

Teachers participate in monthly Saturday meetings and form the Design Team providing guidelines for SEA, AIR and LAND challenges.

Summer Institute LAND was held mostly virtual and remote. Small teams could show their skills in the auditorium of the James Madison Preparatory Highschool.

Review Team worked out successfully the final version of the materials for the LAND Challenge.

Teachers participate in monthly Saturday meetings and form the Design Team providing guidelines for SEA, AIR and LAND challenges.

Expert Team forms and holds weekly meetings throughout the year planning individual research activities, sets goals and determines content.

NFC Board of Trustees accepts the "STEM SEALs" award from the NSF (National Science Foundation).

Final version of the STEM SEALs proposal submitted to the NSF (National Science Foundation).

First ideas about reaching out to middle school students and teachers were discussed between science and career and work force faculty at NFC and the NFC Foundation Office, triggered by the request from the administration to search for federal funding opportunities.