This past Tuesday, I was able to attend the Massachusetts STEM Summit at the DCU Center in Worcester. It was a great day of learning and 
sharing among educators and community members from around the state.
I was very excited to co-present a session called Let You Inner Child Out in the STEM Playground with my colleague and good friend, Rayna Freedman. As registrations rolled in with the selection of sessions, our session became very popular. At one point, we were told that our session needed to be moved to a ballroom to accommodate the number of attendees who selected our presentation during our time slot. Boy, were we in for a surprise! The ballroom was set up for 200 attendees and we ended up with a packed, standing-room-only crowd with people who couldn’t even make it into the room! Our goal was to speak to the attendees about the importance of hands-on, experiential learning and then to let them play! We presented for maybe 15 minutes with this slideshow, and then turned it over to the playground! The educators had so much fun playing with the toys we brought: Hyperduino, Makey Makey kits, Snap Circuits, Barbie bungee jump, Sphero Ollies, playing card towers, catapults, Hotwheels, and more that I’m probably forgetting. I’ve put in some photos below to see the fun!
I was also extremely honored to have been named a finalist for the 2016 Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year by the Hall at Patriot Place and Raytheon. What an honor to be included with the other amazing STEM superstars in Massachusetts. I am extremely grateful for the grant that was given to me to further my STEM program back at Mansfield High School as well. I already have some ideas of where that money could be spent wisely!
What a fantastic day!
