Thursday, March 9, CMS held their STEM Expo. The day began with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students presenting their STEM projects for our community of judges. Presentations ranged from solar power, robotics, water filtration, TRASH to CLASS, water desalination, bacteria study, cell structure, and a physics driven pine derby. CMS teachers, aided by the Innovation Specialist Team of Dr. Margaret Bryant, Mr. Jeremy Young, Mr. Hagan Driskell, Mrs.Carol Yonkin, Mrs.Tamara Feggans, and Mrs. Karen Morris, and Science Specialist Ms. Rebecca Schieber, provided the pathway for exploration, design, and engineering for our students. This year, CMS was able to partner with Naval Support Facility Dahlgren in a unique and groundbreaking challenge. Dahlgren Engineers created design and engineering questions for Grades 6 and 7 and then followed the students through the process, visiting classes and offering support and guidance.
During the evening STEM Expo activities, CMS hosted fourteen innovative demonstrations and four informational tables for students and parents to explore and engage. Some of our community partners included University of Mary Washington, 4-H, FFA, CHS Coding Club, Sea Perch Robotics Club, and many more. The evening concluded with a raffle for a VR headset for one of our CCPS students and a host of awards for our student participants. Students ranking 3rd or higher in their respective categories will move on to the Regional Science Fair. CCPS is so very proud of our teachers and students for their efforts in making the CMS STEM Expo a remarkable success.