Sparking Innovation: Virginia Tech's STEM Discovery Fair

Scholastic Kid Reporter Xander Dorsey pictured with Dr. Pamela Gilchrist at Virginia Tech's STEM Discovery Fair

This spring, The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Arlington, Virginia, celebrated its inaugural STEM Discovery Fair, fostering important connections among academia, industry, and government to inspire and shape future leaders in high demand technology fields.

Hands-on Exploration of Tomorrow's Technologies

At this year’s fair, students and parents eagerly participated in hands-on workshops and witnessed cutting-edge demonstrations, a testament to the fair's interactive approach. The diverse range of activities at the fair captivated attendees and included DNA crime scene labs, AI robotics, drone soccer, expert-led discussions, and cutting-edge demonstrations.

Xander checks out the booths and programming at the event.

 Dr. Pamela Gilchrist, Director of K-12 Programs, explained, "The importance of having STEM discovery fairs are to spark the interest of students around science, technology, engineering and mathematics, to see its connections to so many things in our everyday life, and also to introduce students to potential areas that they may want to pursue as a career, and spark that interest early."

The fair highlighted the campus's emphasis on emerging technologies. Dr. Gilchrist underscored the campus's unique role "[The Virginia Tech Innovation campus] is focused on introducing families in the community to STEM and computing, [as well as] these [other] emerging areas of computer science, like quantum data science, cyber security, intelligent interfaces, internet of things. We want to ensure that we're not only just introducing them to computer science, the traditional programming aspect, but they also see the emerging connections."

Connecting Students with Industry Leaders

Partnerships with industry leaders like Boeing and local educational institutions like Alexandria City Public Schools help build a pipeline of future leaders, provide hands-on learning experience, fund scholarships, research initiatives and support workforce development in STEM fields.

Xander poses with Boeing's Jordon Miller

"Boeing, as an industry, an aviation industry, they are doing cutting edge research in this field, and they're able to lend their resources, their expertise and their knowledge to allow us to bring innovative things to the classroom," Dr. Gilchrist emphasized, highlighting the practical experience students gained.

When asked about the approach for creating a well-rounded STEM experience for students at the event, Dr. Gilchrist shared, "We were strategic in wanting to ensure that students had opportunities to experience science, technology, engineering, math and computing in its multiple facets.

Looking ahead, Dr. Gilchrist pledged to expand the fair, incorporating more exhibitors and prioritizing community feedback. "Your voice matters, and so that's part of the partnership," she affirmed, demonstrating the campus's commitment to fostering a long-term passion for STEM education.