Sailors from various commands visited Sacramento students at three locations during Sacramento Navy Week 2016, Sept. 26.

Sailors from the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 3, and USS Constitution visited Riverview STEM academy, Merryhill School Midtown, and the Yolo County YMCA to discuss naval history, navy flying, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) topics.

"This is a great opportunity for our students, who are at a STEM school, to see the results of where their education could take them," said Tony Peterson, Riverview's principal. "These events give them the chance to get excited about what they could do in the future."

As part of the presentation, EODMU 3 Sailors showed students the importance of STEM in their specialty by discussing the types of robots used. The students got to see each of the robots in action and some got to don EOD personal protective equipment.

Elaine Westphal, head of school at Merryhill, shared her thoughts of the hands-on experience.

"We talk a lot about applying skills in real-world scenarios at our school, so it is a great thing to see the students seeing firsthand how what they learn may be realistically applied," said Westphal.

The presentations weren't just rewarding for the students. Sailors participating in the events walked away with a sense of pride and satisfaction at the impact they had on the kids.

"I loved seeing the light in their eyes as we talked about how we still sail the USS Constitution, the oldest ship in our fleet," said Yeoman 1st Class Patrick Parker, assigned to Constitution. "I hope that the kids of Sacramento get a better understanding of what the Navy is about, what our mission is, and our history of how we came to be."

Every year, America's Navy comes home to approximately 15 cities across the country to show Americans why having a strong Navy is critical to the American way of life.

Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy's principal outreach effort into areas of the country without a significant Navy presence, with 181 Navy Weeks held in 68 different U.S. cities. The program is designed to help Americans understand that their Navy is deployed around the world, around the clock, ready to defend America at all times.

Navy Weeks focus a variety of outreach assets, equipment and personnel on a single city for a weeklong series of engagements with key influences and organizations representing all sectors of the market. During a Navy Week, 75-100 outreach events are coordinated with corporate, civic, government, education, media, veterans, community service and diversity organizations in the city.

The Navy Parachute Team, Navy bands, Navy divers, namesake ship and submarine crews, hometown Sailors, medical personnel, environmental displays, USS Constitution Sailors and equipment, and Navy recruiting properties all participate in the Navy Week program.

For more information about Navy Week events visit http://outreach.navy.mil.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.