Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division, Keyport, provided mentorship and support for the Bremerton School District’s seventh annual Math Blast STEM Night at Mountain View Middle School Jan. 30.

The districtwide event gives students and families "the opportunity to explore STEM through a variety of activities, many of which can be duplicated at home,” said Joyce Cowdery, the district's volunteer liaison. 

“At the end of the evening, we ask the families to complete an evaluation," she said. "One of my favorite comments came from a mom who said, ‘My son did math all evening, and he didn't even know it!’"

PSNS & IMF offered activities such as building foil boats and testing them to see how much weight they can take while staying afloat. Students also built “snap circuits,” electrical circuits made with pieces that snap together.

“Our STEM outreach makes the commands good community partners because we are investing in our future workforce,” said Corinne Beach, STEM coordinator for the two commands. “We hope many of the students we engage with will come to work for the government. However, whether they do or not, we're trying to help them gain the skills they'll need for any workforce—teamwork, resilience, persistence, troubleshooting,  innovation, and skills with simple tooling.”

Sam De Lano, NUWC Keyport’s STEM coordinator, echoed Beach’s opinion that the commands’ involvement in STEM programs benefits students while providing a future benefit to the Navy.

“STEM Nights and STEM Days are very similar, in that they're intended to educate at an early age, so that the kids acquire a fundamental understanding of STEM principles that will hopefully follow them into adulthood,” De Lano said. “We're striving to inspire students to pursue a STEM path. In that way, we 're contributing to NAVSEA's ‘Expand the Advantage’ campaign.”

Cowdery said participation by the active duty and civilian Navy employees fosters a sense of interest because the students get a “wow” factor when interacting with the Navy personnel.

“The Department of Defense is the largest employer in our county, so it's important for the students to see military representation in the schools, as we're a military town,” Cowdery said. The presence of Navy civilian workers is as important as the active duty volunteers because this allows students to get an idea of the scope of opportunities available in the Department of Defense, she added.

Beach agreed the presence of civilian Navy workers brings a unique perspective students can benefit from.

“As civilians, we are the technical experts in our individual paths,” Beach said. “Technical mentors help describe why something is happening and then how it happens.”

Cowdery said she encourages anyone interested in becoming a STEM mentor to contact their local school’s STEM coordinator.

“Several of our schools host other STEM events throughout the year, especially West Hills STEM Academy,” she said. “Our schools also participate in the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair (WSSEF), held in Bremerton every year in the spring. WSSEF was actually started in Bremerton by a few local PTA parents who wanted to promote science.  Partnership and community are what makes STEM work!”

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