BELLEFONTE AREA
SCHOOL NEWS
814-355-4814 • www . basd . net
Family STEAM Night
Recently , Bellefonte Area School District held its first Family STEAM Night . The event was hosted at the high school and was previously known as Family Science Night . STEAM Night consisted of activities , ranging from science to math to art to robotics to reading with the librarian , and much more . High school biology and chemistry teacher , Drew Eddinger , spearheaded this event . She invited elementary , middle , and high school teachers to host activity tables , and included Penn State students and professors to join the event , as well . The variety of events could keep the attention of students of all age levels . It was a tremendous success that many are looking forward to next year . Here is our interview with Drew Eddinger :
What made you decide to reignite STEAM Night - and what made you decide to change it from Science to STEAM ?
" I ' ve loved this event since my first year at Bellefonte , and I ' ve been anxious to relaunch it since we last hosted it in 2019 . When Exploration-U from Penn State reached out to ask if we would be interested in bringing this back , I jumped at the opportunity . It was important to me that we update this from a simple Science night to an all in STEAM Night . Science relies on the advancements and creativity of technology , engineering , art , and math . Our Middle School Art Club ( led by Nicole Tucker ) and our Destination Imagination teams ( led by Jackie Wynkoop and Andrew Dowd ) beautifully executed the STEAM spirit !"
What was your favorite part of this event ?
" Personally , my favorite part was witnessing all of the kids ' reactions . I love seeing their anticipation at every station . Equally , I loved seeing 30 of our middle school and high school students take on the role of presenters during this event ! I truly wanted to have something for all ages . My own kids were my inspiration for the toddler play area . I wanted to provide a safe and welcoming space for that age group to explore , and build , and draw . The Slime Room was a huge hit and so well executed by Penn State , and every presenter throughout the event found ways to get kids working with their hands and thinking about STEAM in ways they maybe haven ' t before ."
Will this event happen again next year ?
" That ' s the plan ! The positive response has been overwhelming , and Exploration-U and I look forward to continuing this partnership . I ' ve already begun brainstorming additional activities and collaborators to include next year . I cannot say thank you enough ! Thank you to every community business who hosted activities or donated a raffle prize . Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time setting up and / or hosting activities . Thank you to every family who stopped in to enjoy the free event !"
Please patronize this fine local sponsor of Bellefonte School News :
Ladies Clothing Boutique - sizes 2 to 22 -
Great Gifts for ALL the Ladies in Your Life !
122 South Allegheny Street , Bellefonte • ( 814 ) 548-7847
Open : Monday , Tuesday , Wednesday 9 - 5 Thursday , Friday 10 - 6 , Saturday 10 - 4
www . bearcountrygoodnews . com “ Good News ” -- December -- 5