More than 1,000 students from Districts 7-12, along with their teachers and parents, filled Yankee Stadium on May 30 to present their science projects produced during the school year for the 5th Annual Bronx STEM Expo.
This event also rewards the students for their academic achievements and participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
“Today, we celebrate the all-stars in our community and those are our New York City public school students. We’re honored to be able to provide this platform to once again showcase the talent our borough has to offer,” said Brian Smith, the senior vice president of corporate and community relations for the Yankees.
The STEM Expo and Science Fair was an initiative that launched in 2021 as part of a partnership between the New York Yankees and Bronx Community School District 9.
This initiative is one of many enacted by the district to prepare their students for a rapidly evolving workforce.
“It’s a day where [students] just get to be immersed in science. And we really make sure that at the heart of it, it’s that we celebrate the kids and kids love to be celebrated, they love to be seen,” said Harry Sherman, District 9 superintendent. “And the more that we can do that, the more that we’re going to put them on the trajectory that they deserve.”
The Center for Educational Innovation (CEI), a nonprofit organization focused on school improvement and transforming public education, has a long partnership with the Yankees and works closely with superintendents across the city.
The CEI has a particular interest in the Bronx through its Bronx Innovation Center – in collaboration with the Bronx STEAM Center – led by CEI visiting senior fellow and former NYC Public Schools chancellor Dr. Meisha Porter.
Michael Kohlhagen, the president and CEO at CEI, told the Bronx Times that they are thrilled to work with the Yankees and public schools to showcase student work, nurture their talents and interests, and provide them opportunities to consider career pathways.
“Students are focused on the positive aspects of technology and focused on using technology to work together, to problem solve, and to further their interests and opportunities,” said Kohlhagen.
“We’re hoping that we give them a glimpse into the future and a glimpse into what’s possible, so that they can really choose their passion and choose where their skills and passions meet to really excel,” he added.
Sixth and seventh graders from the Leaders of Tomorrow Middle School (x370) in Williamsbridge presented their interactive coding and robotics projects in the stadium’s Great Hall.
They are one of the participating schools in the Bronx Innovation Center, and each grade level has STEM incorporated into the curriculum.
Kádidìa Kamara and James McNeil, 10th graders from Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics created their project, “Alternative Pesticides,” to look for less toxic substances for eliminating pests in plants.
“We got a natural predator, which was a regal jumping spider – the biggest species of that kind – and we got the biggest pest which were crickets,” Kamara said.
They separated the spider, whom they named Dottie, and the crickets into two separate enclosures with the same type of plants and same amount of plants. They observed the amount of time each creature would take to eliminate the pest before it could do damage.
Their conclusion was that the enclosure with the crickets experienced a lot of mold growth, which the crickets would eat and then each other, since they are omnivores.
The spider was more effective at pest control by eating all the crickets before they could damage the plants and its ecosystem.
“I chose this one because I really like animals and pesticides are a really big problem that we have today, and they cause a lot of problems for us in the ecosystem,” McNeil said.
“I figured using a spider, which people are normally afraid of, would kind of make people shy away from this project, so instead we used a jumping spider because they’re more appealing to look at and naturally responsive to humans in a positive way,” he told the Bronx Times.
Reach Keke Grant-Floyd at kekegfreports@gmail.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
