Over 620,000 Students and Educators Participates in TAG-Ed’s Second Annual Georgia STEM Day
Atlanta - Georgia (PRWEB) May 12, 2014 -- TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed), the Technology Association of Georgia’s charitable organization dedicated to preparing the next-generation workforce, celebrated the second Georgia STEM Day on May 9, 2014. Over 620,000 participating students and educators from across the state engaged in innovative STEM-based learning activities.
“STEM programs in our schools, including Georgia STEM Day, are exactly what our students need – and what Georgia needs,” State School Superintendent John Barge said. “There is a continuing void in STEM professionals in Georgia’s labor market, and schools that encourage students’ passions for science, technology, engineering and math will go far to fill that gap.”
STEM Day participants ranged from individual classrooms to entire school districts. Superintendent Barge visited Ridgeland High School in Walker County, where the STEM Academy cohort presented environmental research projects to the school’s partners from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Students at Tucker Middle School in DeKalb County launched student-designed rockets and built aluminum rafts to test for buoyancy. Students at Deer Chase Elementary in Augusta conducted a water filtration activity and learned about the hydroelectricity provided by the local canal. These are just a few of the hundreds of STEM Day activities completed across the state.
Additionally, local companies and universities committed to STEM education outreach partnered with educators to provide speakers and field trip opportunities in order to help students make the vital connection between their curriculum and STEM careers. For example, the students at Peachtree Charter Middle School were visited by the Weather Company to learn about the STEM-related careers available within their organization. The Robotics Research Group from Georgia Southern University visited H. V. Jenkins High School engineering classes to demonstrate their latest work on programmable hovercrafts and other robotic devices.
Participants of STEM Day have the opportunity to be recognized for the Technology Association of Georgia’s STEM Education Awards, held on September 26 in Savannah, Ga. The STEM Education Awards were created to recognize schools, programs and companies for outstanding efforts and achievements in supporting STEM education in Georgia.
To learn more about Georgia STEM Day, please visit http://bit.ly/GASTEMDay. To follow the conversation on Twitter, track #GASTEMDay.
About TAG Education Collaborative
TAG Education Collaborative is dedicated to developing science, technology, engineering and math initiatives in Georgia. Through partnerships with statewide STEM programs, TAG-Ed fosters student interest in STEM in order to increase appreciation for the opportunities available through technology careers. TAG-Ed hosts an internship program for high school students, two web-based team challenges for students interested in Health IT and web design, and the Vine Event, an annual fundraiser benefiting STEM education. For additional information, visit TAG Education Collaborative or contact Michael Robertson at (404) 920 – 2038 or mrobertson(at)tagonline(dot)org.
Brandi White, Vayu Media, http://www.vayumedia.com, +1 404-348-7869, [email protected]
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