Photo of the Alumni Plaza and the Student Services and Classroom Building on the University of Houston-Clear Lake campus. Image courtesy of UHCL Office of Communications. — UHCL Student Services and Classroom Building. Image courtesy of UHCL Office of Communications.

Area students invited to challenge themselves

By Online Editor Last updated Mar 26, 2015 72 0

Discover what is exciting about science, technology, engineering and math by competing in the STEM Challenge 2015 April 11, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., at University of Houston-Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX 77058. Students from area high schools, community colleges and universities are invited to participate for chances to win a variety of prizes. The STEM Challenge is presented by UHCL in partnership with San Jacinto College.

“We want this challenge to engage and stimulate junior high school, high school and college students so that they can overcome their insecurities about STEM fields,” says UHCL Professor of Computer Science and Computer Information Systems Sharon P. Hall. “We want to encourage them to pursue STEM careers.”

The challenge comprises three stations. “Game of Clues” station will showcase math abilities allowing participants to decipher clues by using their math knowledge, while “Creative Inventors” will promote problem-solving skills. Finally, “Robot Adventure” will highlight programming and robotics abilities and allow participants to use analytical skills to edit skeleton code to manipulate robots.

“Our goal is to make STEM fun and inspiring,” added Hall.

Prizes include internships, scholarships, robotics kits and more. Hall said that last year’s winning team of students from one local high school were provided summer internships by an aerospace contractor, resulting in jobs for two of the four who still continue to work there.

Danishes and juice will be provided for breakfast. Lunch will be provided for those who are registered. For more information or to register, visit http://dcm.uhcl.edu/cybercenter/ or email UHCL Program Chair of Information Technology Krishani Abeysekera, abeysekera@uhcl.edu, or call 281-283-3831.