Boys & Girls Club Blog

What’s New With STEM

This year has some very exciting things happening with our STEM program.

Our Wednesday night programming has started off strong with three different options for our members. The first option is STEM Club for all ages with our STEM Coordinator Ms. Susan. Each month there is a different theme for our members to learn about. October’s theme is Energy Sources.

The second option is our FIRST Lego Robotics Team for member ages 9-14. Our program facilitators Glenn and Barb Doherty have returned to run this exciting program. Members learn computer coding, leadership and teamwork skills, all while building fun robots who can do many different things. Once our team has been built, they will start focusing on getting competition-ready.

Our third options is our VEX Robotics team for members in middle school and up, facilitated by volunteers from Oshkosh Corp. VEX Robotics uses classroom STEM concepts that are put to the test as students learn lifelong skills in teamwork, leadership, communication and more. Our team is setting up meets with local clubs to test our their problem solving skills during battle.

Anyone interested in joining our Wednesday night programs can sign up with Director of Member Services Debbie Henschel at the Radford front desk.

Why is STEM important for our members? According to the U. S. Department of Commerce, STEM occupations are growing at 17%, while other occupations are growing at 9.8%. STEM degree holders have a higher income even in non-STEM careers. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future. STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators.

We want all our members to have the tools and skills to build strong futures for themselves and their communities and by investing in STEM we are giving them great opportunities to learn and grow their skills.

For more information about our STEM programs please contact: Director of Academic Success, Jessica McKenna: 920-233-1414, ext. 120 or jessicam@bgcosh.org

Written by: Director of Academic Success, Jessica McKenna