UK ITS volunteers for STEM night at Lexington Universal Academy

On Friday, February 16th, volunteers from the UK ITS team participated in Lexington Universal Academy's STEM night.  

Designed to educate elementary through eighth grade students about science, technology, engineering and math, the UK ITS team led interactive activities and answered questions about technology.  

Students made binary code bracelets, by using a chart that showed combinations of ones and zeros used to make up a letter. Participants were encouraged to create their first initial using the chart and beads. Students also worked with ITS team members to build snap circuits, an activity using child-friendly circuit boards to introduce the foundations of electrical engineering. 

A popular activity was the Sphero robot, a STEM toy used to demonstrate robotics and foundational coding skills. Using an iPad, students drove the robot around the classroom and had it execute commands. UK ITS also had informational flyers for parents and family on cybersecurity and a slide show with information about careers in IT.

Hanan Abdeldayem is a teacher at Lexington Universal Academy.

“It was great having UK Information Technology Services teach our LUA students about how important it is to understand how computers can be used in different forms and how to be safe online through various interactive activities including a Sphero robot, snap circuits, and binary bracelets,” she said.

UK ITS Associate CIO of Enterprise Networking & Infrastructure Hector Rios attended the STEM fair.

"Engaging with kids at the Lexington Universal Academy was fun and rewarding,” Rios said. “Volunteering provides me with the chance to spark curiosity in young minds, fostering a love for STEM that I believe is crucial for their future academic and personal development.” 

UK ITS volunteers included Smitha Chopra, Jennifer Edwards, Marci Adams, Hector Rios and Ayah Abdeldayem. Please fill out our Volunteer Form to join us at future events.