A large room inside the Berks County Intermediate Unit in Muhlenberg Township was abuzz Tuesday morning.
Kids, students in grades kindergarten through fifth, stood and sat around round tables excitedly chatting and frantically working.
The cut cardboard, ripped pieces of tape, adhered popsicle sticks to paper coffee filters. Slowly but surely, the ideas became realities.
The students, about 100 in total from 10 Berks County school districts, were taking part in the Keystone STEM Competition. The competition is a statewide STEM challenge for students that blends elements of a “hack-a-thon” and “Shark Tank.”
The Berks County Intermediate Unit hosted the inaugural Keystone STEM Competition on Tuesday. About 100 students from 10 Berks County school districts took part. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)
The 21 five-member teams began the contest with a challenge: create something to improve schools in Pennsylvania. They were then given two hours to brainstorm, design a product and build a prototype before doing a 3-minute presentation in front of a panel of judges.
This year was the first that the BCIU hosted the contest.
Jillian Darlington, assistant program administrator at the BCIU, said the competition encourages teamwork, creativity and on-the-fly problem solving.
“They came here today completely unaware of what the challenge was,” she said.
The students taking part seemed thrilled to take on the challenge.
“It’s fun because we get to use our imagination and creativity,” said Luke Mohler, a Muhlenberg Elementary Center fifth grader.
Muhlenberg Elementary Center fifth grader Luke Mohler and fourth grader Kinsley Kline, work on their project during the Keystone STEM Competition at the Berks County Intermediate Unit on Tuesday. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)
His team was creating what they called a “recess locker room.” It is a tent-like device — made of bulletproof material — that students can use to hide during a school lockdown.
“It’s like a safe room for when you’re at recess,” Mohler said.
His teammate, Kinsley Kline, said she liked the idea that what they were creating could have a real impact on school safety.
“It’s fun because I get to use my creativity to do something to improve the community,” the fourth grader said. “Who knows, maybe one of these things could become a real thing one day.”
A few tables away, a team from Oley Valley Elementary School toiled away with their creation: solar panels that can be used to charge iPads and computers.
“It will help to save electricity,” Grant Scober, a fourth grader, explained.
Oley Valley Elementary School fourth grader Grant Scober, left, and third grader Leo Sottosanti work on their project during the inaugural Keystone STEM Competition at the Berks County Intermediate Unit on Tuesday. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)
Like the team from Muhlenberg, members of the Oley Valley team were enjoying the creative process.
“I think it’s really fun, I’m excited,” Scober said. “I like just getting to be creative.”
His teammate, third grader Leo Sottosanti, concurred.
“I’m excited,” he said with a smile. “I like using my brain to make different projects and build stuff.”