  {"id":205207,"date":"2024-10-17T16:14:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T02:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=205207"},"modified":"2024-10-18T16:17:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-19T02:17:59","slug":"ignite-stem-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/17\/ignite-stem-passion\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa ignites <abbr>STEM<\/abbr> passion in elementary school students"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_205283\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-205283\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-spaghetti-tower-2.jpg\" alt=\"people building a spaghetti tower\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-205283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-spaghetti-tower-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-spaghetti-tower-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-spaghetti-tower-2-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-205283\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the activities the students experienced was building a spaghetti tower, to gain hands-on experience with civil engineering principles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To spark interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among young learners through interactive activities, the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> at M\u0101noa hosted more than 75 fifth-grade students from Liholiho Elementary School on October 17 for a day of hands-on <abbr title=\"Science Technology Engineering Mathematics\">STEM<\/abbr> exploration.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-student-help-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"person helping a student\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-205213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-student-help-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-student-help-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-student-help.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This event provided a unique opportunity for elementary students to experience hands-on applications of <abbr>STEM<\/abbr> fields in a variety of disciplines,&rdquo; <abbr title=\"东精影业\">东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa <a href=\"https:\/\/natsci.manoa.hawaii.edu\/\">College of Natural Sciences<\/a> Associate Dean Alison Sherwood said. &ldquo;Through these engaging activities, the university aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians, showcasing the excitement and relevance of these disciplines in everyday life.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/lifesciences\/\">School of Life Sciences<\/a>, students delved into the wonders of marine biodiversity. They encountered fascinating specimens from the ocean&#8217;s depths, including a giant clam and deep-sea spiders, gaining insight into the diverse marine life from polar seas to Waik\u012bk\u012b&#8217;s shores.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-nat-sci-group-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"kids making arts and crafts in a group\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-205237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-nat-sci-group-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-nat-sci-group-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-nat-sci-group.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eng.hawaii.edu\/\">College of Engineering<\/a>, students constructed catapults, learning about the design process used by mechanical engineers. They also competed to build the tallest spaghetti tower, gaining hands-on experience with civil engineering principles.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/chem\/\">Department of Chemistry<\/a> captivated the young visitors with exciting experiments such as  the combustion of gummy bears and the generation of molten iron, and the effects of extreme cold on everyday objects.<\/p>\n<p>With the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ics.hawaii.edu\/\">Department of Information and Computer Sciences<\/a>, students engaged in game development and coding activities. They designed video game characters and brought them to life, while others explored block coding to create digital Jack-o&#8217;-lanterns and program LEGO bots to navigate playing fields.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Exposing <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>\u2019s youth to engineering concepts through hands-on activities is crucial for nurturing future innovators and leaders,&rdquo; <abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa College of Engineering Dean Brennon Morioka said. &ldquo;These kinds of early experiences spark curiosity, foster problem-solving skills, and show students that engineering is not just about complex equations, but about creatively improving the world around us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-catapult-in-action.jpg\" alt=\"people shooting a ball with a makeshift catapult\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-205216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-catapult-in-action.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-catapult-in-action-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-catapult-in-action-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-living-creatures.jpg\" alt=\"people showing students living creatures\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-205244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-living-creatures.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-living-creatures-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-living-creatures-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-hands-on-learning.jpg\" alt=\"people showing students living creatures\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-205245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-hands-on-learning.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-hands-on-learning-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-natural-sci-engineering-liholiho-visit-closeup-hands-on-learning-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each department created their own fun activities for the students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[251,179,308,541,182,484,1085,1466,568,1473,313,9],"class_list":["post-205207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-chemistry","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-computer-science","tag-engineering","tag-information-and-computer-science","tag-life-science","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-natural-science","tag-school-of-life-sciences","tag-stem","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205207"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205284,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205207\/revisions\/205284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}