Local Student Attends Pathways To STEM Program, Learns New Opportunities Exist

Coleton thanks his teacher and school for the opportunity

Coleton Pettit. Photo provided.

Local fifth grade student, Coleton Pettit, attended a National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF) Pathways to STEM program at Bowling Green State University this summer. 

The weeklong program focused in multiple areas including: Engineering, Crime Scene Investigation, Medicine and a STEM project. 

The Engineering portion had groups build robots and program them to help find missing crew members, which also happen to be suspects in the CSI case they were working on. They also learned about and built truss bridges that needed to hold their robots. 

During the CSI portion of the program students worked on The Case of the Missing Ancient Map. The lessons focused on using the evidence found to narrow down their suspect list. Students learned about replicating and analyzing blood spatter. They also learned to research and compare fingerprint evidence found at a crime scene to suspects in the case. 

In Medicine, students learned about the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, built a model lung and dissected a beef heart. They also studied snakebite treatment and did an experiment to observe how the blood is affected by venom. 

The STEM project was to build an amusement park ride complete with a motor circuit. 

The five day program was an opportunity for learning and self-discovery for students. Not only did they complete several projects, but they also got to practice their presentation skills by presenting their findings in the CSI Case as well as the amusement park rides created.

The Pathways to STEM program also gave Coleton a better sense of what opportunities exist as he begins to make decisions about his future.

10-year-old Coleton said he hopes to be able to continue to attend these summer programs. Coleton would also like to thank his teacher, Mrs. Petty, and Aurora Elementary School (AES) for this opportunity.