The 2022 Larks STEM Expo, Presented by MDU Resources Group
August 2, 2022 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Bismarck Larks News Release
The Bismarck Larks have teamed up with MDU Resources and Gateway to Science to bring STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to the baseball field. Together, we understand the importance of equipping youth with the knowledge and skills to solve tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence and comprehend information.
Join us for our STEM Expo.
There's something fun for everyone...
The MDU Resources STEM Expo is a hands-on and educational opportunity for kids of all ages to learn, interact and participate in science, technology, engineering and math activities and demonstrations.
The STEM Expo will take place at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, Home of Dakota Community Bank and Trust Field on Saturday, August 6 from 11 AM-2 PM
Participants can park in the parking lot for Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, but should access the lot from Hanafin St. There is no access via Sweet Ave. before or during the event (till 1 PM) due to the BisMarket happening at the same time.
We'll have:
Mascot appearances
Free event for the entire family
Hands-on STEM activity booths hosted by local businesses
A special bag for the first 100 kids at the event
Prize drawings
Concessions available
Plus amazing booths and presentations! Look out for booths and presentations from:
MDU Resources Group
Knife River
Gateway to Science
North Dakota Space Grant Consortium
North Dakota National Guard
BPS Career Academy
North Dakota State Library
Bismarck Fire Station
Bismarck State College Polytechnic
Bismarck Police
ND Air National Guard
Metro Area Ambulance
Bismarck Aero Center
Barr Engineering
Every summer, we make it our mission to recognize six all-star students who exhibit hard work, dedication, and a commitment to using STEM to serve their school and community. Students are nominated by their teacher for their love of learning. The winners are then carefully selected by MDU Resources and Gateway to Science. Students in grades 1-12 attending North Dakota schools are eligible.
The 2022 STEM All-Star students are:
Jordan Dooley | Jamestown High School | 11th Grade
As a junior in high school, Jordan completed AP Calculus as well as several other advanced courses, has learned advanced coding outside of school, been a part of the winning team at the statewide Cyber Madness event, and is one of the most senior members on the James Valley Robotics Team. Jordan teaches and works with other Robotics Team members, and assisted in launching the school's Coding Club where he teaches other students to code. "Jordan excels at critical thinking," notes his nominating teacher, Jordan Montgomery. "He demonstrates his ability to communicate ideas and to work with other students on solving problems. He has the ability to come up with solutions using the resources available."
Nora Huber | Center-Stanton Elementary School | 6th Grade
Already as a 6th grader, Nora is dedicated to creating a diverse set of experiences to gain knowledge about the world around her. Her critical thinking and communication skills make her a wonderful collaborative partner. Nora's curiosity and creativity is on display in her many activities, such as designing Rube Goldberg simple machine experiments, programming a robot to travel through a maze, creating a solar-powered robotic turtle, and participating in an experiment to grow lettuce for the school lunches using LED lights on a growing tower. "Her curiosity has led to many creative at-home and in-school experiments," shared teacher Ms. Gusewelle. "Classmates and teachers look forward to hearing about and learning from Nora's projects."
Kyler Loraas |Wachter Middle School (Bismarck) | 8th Grade
Kyler is an important member of the Wachter Science Olympiad Team where he competes mostly in engineering and technology events. As an Olympiad competitor, he collaborates with is peers as they work on their projects. Kyler is self-taught in how to fun Fusion 260, a cloud-based 3-D modeling program. He designs and engineers products for use in his Science Olympiad projects and events. "Kyler is creative and an out-of-the-box thinker who studies a problem and develops possible solutions to achieve the end goal," shared teacher Mr. Curren. "I am more and more impressed with his engineering capabilities."
Josh Pfaff | Career Academy & Technical Center / Bismarck High | 11th Grade
Josh is the lead programmer for the Career Academy FTC Robotics Team and an innovator in the Robotics class. By way of the engineering design process, he clearly communicates his projects throughout all his classes and demonstrates superior solutions to engineering problems. "Working with him in engineering classes I have seen Josh help classmates struggling with CADD programs," said nominating teacher Mr. Blanchard. "He is willing to come back to the classroom and help students in the areas of programming, working through designs, and just to 'tinker' on the 3D printers."
Brayden Sutherland | Lisbon Public School | 79th Grade
Brayden has competed in the Southeast Region Science & Engineering Fair as an individual and as a team member for four years. She has advanced from the regional to the state competition three of those years, winning multiple awards with her projects. Brayden advanced to the International Science & Engineering Fair in Atlanta GA in 2022, and presented her project there in early May. "She did well," shared teacher Ms. Pierce. "No awards but we learned a lot and she is already planning her project for next year."
Davis Vesey | The Innovation School (Bismarck) | 5th Grade
"Critical thinking is an area that Davis is extremely strong in," noted his teacher Ms. Achtenberg. "He plays on his strengths as a hands-on learner." Davis was diagnosed with Dyslexia and has learned how to understand the world by using his strengths. Davis communicates with his peers by telling them his brain works differently and he asks for what he needs. In turn, he teaches others using the tools that help him learn. Davis participates in Tech Fridays where he builds and codes robots, and in the school's program to learn about and fly drones. His creativity is evident in many projects, and he has a small shop out of his house that he tinkers with and works on broken items. Davis recently fixed a lawn mower for a community member, rewired a lamp for the classroom, and created a prototype of a working vending machine to demonstrate his understanding of simple machines.
Tayla Ybarra | Alexander Public School | 12th Grade
Tayla is a leader for her school as Student Body President and Robotics Team Captain. She encompasses the 4Cs in academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities. Tayla has been involved with the FTC Robotics team for three years. She helped the team win the State Championship in 2020 as well as other awards. "Tayla enjoys the collaboration and communication teams take, and encourages critical thinking during meetings and activities," noted nominating teacher Ms. White. Tayla is also part of a pilot project in Alexander, TEALS. TEALS is a computer science class that pairs students with Microsoft engineers and teaches them how to program in python, and how to create and demonstrate projects.
In honor of their accomplishment, the Larks will recognize each of the 2022 STEM All-Stars during MDU Resources Group and Gateway to Science STEM Night on Saturday, August 6.
Each STEM All-Star receives the following:
Personalized Larks jersey
(4) Larks tickets to a select game
Recognition in in the Larks game day program
On-field recognition at STEM Night
A Gateway to Science One-Year Student Membership
Northwoods League Stories from August 2, 2022
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- The 2022 Larks STEM Expo, Presented by MDU Resources Group - Bismarck Larks
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
