Western Carolina University was invaded on Sept. 25 by younger than usual students.
Around 860 children, grades 3-12, from 13 schools across the region were enjoying a chemistry magic show, learned to operate small robots and interacted with the larger dog robot, learned fun math, crime scenes, birds, brains, DNA and many other science activities.
This was the 4th annual STEM outreach day organized by the WCU Science Education Program Coordinator and geology professor, Frank Forcino.
“Our mission for this event is to support regional teachers and students by providing them with the opportunity to experience real science, engineering, and math at work,” Forcino said.
The day started at 9 a.m. and it was difficult to walk in the halls of Apodaca building where kids and students were passing, running or engaging with volunteers showing them how the human brain works, to rocks and birds’ feathers, wings and skeletons.
Schedules and activities differed based on grades, but the goal for all students remained the same. The event was designed to give students the opportunity to experience science.
Young students get hands-on learning opportunities by performing science experiences during the STEM outreach event on Sept. 25. Photo by Lauren Hutzler. 
WCU volunteer shows students how to extract DNA from frozen fruit. Photo by Lauren Hutzler. 
Students learn about engineering and play with robots. Photo by Lauren Hutzler. 
Geology professor Shane Schoepfer shows students various rocks and their properties. Photo by Kristin Menickelli, CVS middle school teacher. 
Students learned how human brains function and make models of cells. Photo by Kristin Menickelli, CVS middle school teacher. 
Biology professor, Jeremy Hyman talked about birds, feathers and anatomy to students who were able to touch and played preserved birds. Photo by WCJ.
“Not only will these experiences spark interest in STEM fields among the participants, but they also help the teachers provide enriching content for what the students are doing in the classroom,” Forcino said in an email.
Maci Bears, an elementary school teacher at Highlands School, explained how the event provided a special learning environment for the kids.
“Students are exposed to such a variety of science that we usually don’t have access to, and they get an opportunity to see the possibilities,” Bears said.
Many professors and students from WCU also assisted in bringing the event to life.
Alesia Jennings, a chemistry and physics instructor at WCU, believes that the experience is valuable because it fosters a curiosity for science at a young age for the kids.
“[It] just creates the best students and lifelong learners,” Jennings said.
Jayme Brigman, one of Jenning’s students, participated in the event by running a science experiment stand for the kids.
The experiment she conducted consisted of children adding colors and water to paper and watching the color expand. The children got excited watching the colors come together, and Brigman was happy to see them learn.
“It’s cool to see them make the connection between what they are learning in the classroom and what they are seeing here,” Brigman said.
