Engineers And Scientists Week Promote STEM In Motherlode Schools

Sonora, CA– Engineers and scientists from eight organizations recently took part in a week-long event called “Engineers and Scientists in Schools Week,” organized by the Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools in collaboration with Stantec, a global architecture, engineering, and design firm, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The event aimed to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and encourage students in grades K-12 to explore STEM fields.

The volunteers visited 32 classrooms across Tuolumne County and led interactive STEM activities while sharing their STEM career journeys with the students. They also prepared hands-on activities to help the students make connections between the presentation topics and real-world applications of science and engineering. Soulsbyville School fourth-graders learned about their local watershed from SFPUC engineer Matthew McNicol. Meanwhile, Sonora High School students explored Geological Engineering during their Earth Science class with guest engineer Orion Lizaue of Delve Underground Engineering. At Belleview Elementary, kindergarteners built structures from popsicle sticks and gummy bears with guest engineer Andrew Batalya, also from Delve Underground Engineering.

“The kids loved learning about structural engineering, and they really enjoyed the hands-on activity that was planned,” said Rachel Sooter, a Belleview kindergarten teacher.