STEAM Night at Snelson-Golden Middle School

By Spc. Corey ForemanMarch 16, 2016

STEAM night at Snelson-Golden Middle School
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A Soldier of 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division participates in a zSpace activity March 10, 2016, at Snelson-Golden Middle School in Hinesville, Ga. zSpace allows people to interact with sim... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
STEAM night at Snelson-Golden Middle School
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Cpl. Andrew Koon, personnel noncommissioned officer in charge with 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division assists students with slope intercept form during STEAM night March 10, 2016, at Snelson... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
STEAM night at Snelson-Golden Middle School
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Cpl. Andrew Koon, personnel noncommissioned officer in charge with 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division fills a bottle with water while conducting a science experiment March 10, 2016, at Snels... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
STEAM night at Snelson-Golden Middle School
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A Snelson-Golden Middle School student explains robotics during STEAM night to a Soldier of 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, March 10, 2016, at the school in Hinesville, Ga. STEAM, which ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT STEWART, Ga. - Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division participated in STEAM Night at Snelson-Golden Middle School in Hinesville, Georgia, March 10.

STEAM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, art and math, is a curriculum based on how these subjects intertwine in the real world, allowing teachers to instill practical learning strategies.

Snelson-Golden Middle School is sponsored by 3-15 Inf. through 3rd ID's Adopt-A-School program. The battalion plays a part in the community by helping and supporting the school, and expanding their mutually-beneficial partnership.

"Its good to help with these events, and we get to learn the things the kids in the community are getting to use, like all the new technology," said Cpl. Andrew Koon, personnel noncommissioned officer in charge with 3-15 Inf.

STEAM night helps motivate and excite students, which in return keeps them interested in their studies.

"The purpose of STEAM night is to showcase our science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics," said Roland Vanhorn, principal of Snelson-Golden Middle School. "It gets everybody excited about STEAM, and research shows once kids are excited their grades start to get better and more kids will enroll in college."

"Right now our county has a graduation rate just below 76 percent. Initiatives like this will get kids excited about these core subjects, which are traditionally very difficult and will ultimately raise the graduation rate," Vanhorn said. "The end project is for kids to graduate college and be career ready."

The kids enjoy hands-on interaction along with new technologies in the school.

"I like to build stuff and have it work," said Amarriah, a 7th grade student at Snelson-Golden. "I built a car with cardboard boxes and bottle tops and I taped a balloon on it with a straw and once you let go the air pushed the car."

The goal is to prepare students to embark on career paths that fit the next generation.

"With the new 21st-century jobs and careers opening up for our students we want to make sure they have the skills to pursue those math and science field jobs," said Michelle O'Gorman, academic specialist at Snelson-Golden. "We want our students to have better opportunities for scholarships."

Fort Stewart is not just a military base. It is also a piece of the community surrounding it.

The military contributes to these events by helping with setup and interacting with students.

"We've helped out with some of the displays and assisted to get some of them working if the staff couldn't," Koon said. "It also reminds us why we are fighting for the freedom we fight for every day, we fight for the kids. We like to come out to the school events and we like to try to help the kids learn."