The Engineering students at Sonoma State University participated in the 2016 North Bay Science Discovery Day on October 29th at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. The North Bay Science Discovery Day is designed to stimulate the excitement of learning Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in North Bay youth during their most formative years. Several thousands of young students, along with their parents, participated in this event. Electrical Engineering students Abe Palmerin, David Story, Leeana Vargas and Cristin Faria, representing the Engineering Club and and Society of Women Engineerings (SWE) at SSU, had presented several exciting hands-on activities for participating students. These activities included building simple electrical circuits, demonstrations on how to make Apps for smart phones using App Inventor, and how to use cell phones to control robots. "We are excited to be a part of this exhibition. This is a great opportunity for our students to reach out and interact with young kids interested in STEM", points out Dr. Sara Kassis, SWE club faculty advisor. "It was great seeing the kids being so interested and engaged in building simple circuits and connecting lights, batteries, and motors together; they just did not want to leave!," noted Shahram Marivani, an SSU lecturer who maned the circuit-building table non-stop for six hours! "The need for engineering education in the North Bay area is growing and many local high-tech companies are recognizing a shortage of engineers and other high-technology employees in the area", says the Engineering department chair Dr. Farid Farahmand, "At Sonoma State University we are trying to highlight the importance of Technology and Engineering education in STEM and attract more students to the engineering fields."
The pictures above are of the event with engineering students and faculty interacting with young students and their families. (Special thanks to Mr. Shahram Marivani for taking these pictures.)