About 100 seventh- and eighth-grade students from five area school districts are attending iMAS (Investigations in Math and Science) Academy this week at Stephen F. Austin State University.
Dr. Darrell Fry, SFA assistant professor of chemistry, looks on as iMAS Academy participants (from left) Ana Aguirre, Ana Carrillo and Athan Jacobs participate in a forensics experiment.
SFA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) faculty members are guiding students in the discovery of academic skills necessary for STEM careers such as forensics, engineering, heath care and environmental science. Students from the Central, Hudson, Lufkin, Nacogdoches and Woden school districts are participating in the academy.
HDM_0313.jpg – Dr. Dan Bruton (right), astronomer and professor in the SFA Department of Physics and Astronomy, leads iMAS Academy participants in a robotics experiment. Also pictured (from left) are Destiny Marsh, teacher Emily Ingram, Rhiannon Gilbert, teacher Pat Harrison and Chyanne Mouton.
Students are rotating among various investigative modules focusing on STEM careers, including Crime Solvers, ER, Mars Quest, The Orbit of Mercury and Water Test. Team challenges, a chemistry experiment demonstration, a physics magic show and a “This School Rocks” geology presentation sponsored by Chesapeake Energy also have been included in the program.
STEM Student Group 2012 – Area seventh- and eighth-grade students and teachers attending SFA’s iMAS (Investigations in Mathematics and Science) Academy are pictured with Jeff Holliday, public affairs manager for Chesapeake Energy, and Dr. Kim Childs, dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics.
The iMAS Academy is a collaborative effort between the College of Sciences and Mathematics STEM Research and Learning Center and the James I. Perkins College of Education’s East Texas GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) for Success Project.
