Kinard Elementary and Duke Energy Partner in a Program that’s Picking Up STEAM

Last year at Kinard Elementary School the Duke Energy STEAM Girls got their start with 12 young ladies, and this semester the program has doubled in size. Fourth and fifth grade young ladies meet after school once a month with women from the Catawba Nuclear Station to participate in activities relating to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math).

The two main women involved in making the STEAM Girls happen are Abby Rumping, a Senior Engineering Technologist in Transmission, and April Seraphin, an Engineering Technologist at Duke Energy.

“Our program isn’t geared towards directing girls into STEAM careers, but rather giving them the confidence to know that anything is on the table. To rule nothing out,” said Rumping.

Women currently hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs in the US, and only 10 percent of high school girls even show an interest in the field.

“Half our population, and half our great ideas, talent, and all of this that could really be pushing us forward in STEM, for some reason we’re losing those girls early,” said KES’s Technology Integration Specialist Nick LaFave. “And that was a concern for us as a school, and Duke's employees luckily shared that with us.”

According to LaFave, Duke Energy employees do everything from providing the supplies used in the activities to designing and modifying the lessons each month.

"But it’s great because they’ll thank us... it’s like no, thank you. You’re the one providing everything, you guys are coming out voluntarily, it’s awesome,” said LaFave.

According to Seraphin and Rumping, the main challenge each month is finding projects for the girls that keep a low budget and are able to be completed in 45 minutes.

Rumping said she and Seraphin perform a “dry-run” of their activities to test time management and prepare for any complications in the project. The activities being completed now are then documented in a syllabus that Rumping said will roll over every couple of years.

One goal of the STEAM Girls program is to provide young girls with role models who show them that people in their community are capable of doing amazing jobs, and one day they can too. LaFave said Rumping and Seraphin have been great mentors for the students.

“Especially when the ladies come down here and they’re fun, they’re down to earth,” said LaFave. “They get the girls excited and they’re very engaged in everything that they do.”

In their last STEAM Girls meeting on Tuesday, November 13, the students were given a riddle. “A person can walk over or under, and if they are lucky there will be no toll. What am I?” After the girls determined the answer was a bridge, Rumping and Seraphin gave them the specific details of their project.

The students were tasked with building a DaVinci Bridge out of popsicle sticks. The object of their activity was to make a bridge that can be self-supporting without the use of any fasteners or interlocking pieces.

After dividing themselves up in groups of two or three, an array of popsicle sticks, bamboo skewers, glue, and scissors were spread out in front of the girls, and the fun began.

“It’s fun because we get to teach them some facts, then we turn them loose on a project and watch their minds go for it,” said Seraphin.

The students looked at a picture of a completed DaVinci Bridge then talked through how to weave the popsicle sticks and bamboo skewers together to form the structure.

To maintain balance in their bridge, the girls had to work together. While one student was holding up the end of the structure, another girl had to gently insert the bamboo skewer to act as support for the bridge.

LaFave said the collaboration and communication involved for many of these STEAM projects have brought together students he’s never seen hang out in school before.

“The communication aspect, it’s a little funny to see who might normally socially hang out, but in that group, it’s completely turned on its head,” said LaFave. “You’ve got a group of kids who work closely together and they are not afraid to challenge each other and step out of their comfort zones and collaborate on things. It’s just really fun to watch.”

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Rumping agreed that there is more to the STEAM Girls is about more than just doing the activities each month.

“It is not as important to see the girls accomplish the task as much as it is to watch them collaborate, and create,” said Rumping. “These projects instill a sense of courage in the girls to take on any challenge.”

As a parent of a STEAM Girl, LaFave said he has also seen multiple changes in his daughter as a result of this program.

“I think this has increased her interest in STEM a bit,” said LaFave. “Also, in terms of confidence and leadership ability, that was something I wasn’t expecting to see a direct change because of this, but I think there has been; it has played a big role in it.”

Seraphin said one of the things that drew her to Kinard, and one of the reasons she hopes to have a continuing relation with the school, is their Leader in Me program.

“It teaches them [the students] accountability, how to be proactive, and essential life skills. And on top of that they are a STEM focused school.”

The STEAM Girls will meet again and even get to take a field trip to Duke next semester.