STEM Conference Attended by CDH Faculty

October 11, 2016

STEM faculty, Chris Babcock, Jessie Botello, Sylvia Hoffstrom, Chris Kaus and Joyce Nordby, attended the 2016 Minnesota Independent School Forum STEM Conference held at Concordia Academy this past August. The day started with the keynote address from Derham Hall alum Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper'80, Former NASA Astronaut.

Keynote Speaker Referenced Her Path from Derham Hall to Space

Captain Stefanyshyn-Piper'80 highlighted the role of her education at Derham Hall and how it supported her in her quest for a career in the U.S. Navy and NASA.  She recalled her time competing on Derham Hall’s “High School Bowl” and how her enjoyment for math led her into engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She talked of joining the Navy’s ROTC program purely as a means of paying the steep tuition at MIT. Ultimately, this led her to a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. She fulfilled her commitment to the Navy by spending many years working underwater to repair ships. (Because of her eyesight, she couldn’t realize her dream of flying for the Navy.)

Captain Stefanyshyn-Piper'80 shared how she was initially denied entrance into NASA’s astronaut program, but was later accepted. Because of this experience, she encourage individuals not to give up on their dreams.  In her 13 years with NASA, she completed two missions to space in the Shuttle Program and logged more than 33 hours of space walks outside the shuttle!  Upon her retirement from NASA, she went back to the Navy until her retirement in 2015.

Faculty To Bring Learning Back to the CDH STEM Curriculum

New this year to the conference was several breakout sessions that offered insights on encouraging young women in STEM and a variety of ways to incorporate coding in the STEM classroom.

CDH teachers focused on topics that included: Building with 3D Printers, Engineering Practices, STEM of Invisibility of Muggles, and Building an LED Torch. Teachers also attended the session, Role Models to Engage Young Women in STEM.

The Science and Engineering/Computer Science teachers are excited to be able to incorporate some of the new materials, lessons and projects presented at the conference to enhance the existing curriculum.