Brandywine hosts youth STEAM event for middle school students

MEDIA, Pa. — The Brandywine LaunchBox held a Youth Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) and Startup Day for middle school students on May 14. Nearly 80 students from four local middle schools — Chester Charter Scholars Academy, Haverford Middle School, Radnor Middle School and Upper Merion Middle School — attended the event to learn about physics, entrepreneurship, robotics and more.

“Our middle school counselors and teachers year after year come through to bring their brightest students to our annual event. The students are highly engaged in Brandywine faculty workshops and our partnership with CTDI delivered an engineering workshop that was a huge success,” said Tony Mattei, director of entrepreneurship and digital marketing.

“DJ Diamond Kuts was a highlight bringing students to their feet and brought the energy for Kevin Sutton's workshop on entrepreneurship.”

Mattei collaborated with four Brandywine faculty and CTDI, a full-service global engineering company, to facilitate activities and workshops for the event. Lecturer in Engineering Megann Hedgecock hosted a prototyping workshop, Assistant Teaching Professor of Physics Shruti Shrestha held a conductivity workshop, Distinguished Professor of Earth Science Laura Guertin hosted a session on changes in the ocean and climate, and Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics Marina Skyers held a probability workshop. CTDI presented an engineering workshop using Arduino code to activate a moto and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to perform functions that included blinking and LEDs or pulsing the motor.

In addition, startup workshop presenters included Sutton, founder and CEO of 11:22 MMG, and Tina Dunham (DJ Diamond Kuts), the first woman to have a mix-show slot on Philadelphia radio. Sutton, who hosted a workshop on today’s youth pursuing their dreams, noted how engaged the students were during his workshop.

“Speaking at the STEAM Start Up Day at Penn State Brandywine was an incredible experience. The energy in the room was unmatched. The students were engaged, curious, motivated and full of ideas. You could feel the excitement every time we talked about entrepreneurship, creativity and turning dreams into action,” Sutton said.

“After leaving that room, I truly believe the next generation of business owners, innovators and leaders was sitting right in front of me. Thank you LaunchBox for the opportunity.”

Brandywine’s Youth STEAM and Startup Day was sponsored by The Meridian Fund and Halliday Properties Youth Programs Grant.