Promoting STEAM in Chester County
Giti Math & Science Award Going Strong in Third Year
From describing the Earth’s continental land forms to applying physics to an egg drop, Chester County students demonstrated impressive STEAM skills in this year’s Giti Math & Science Award competition, which concluded with an April 11 awards ceremony.
For the third year in a row, Giti Tire sponsored a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) competition with the Chester County School District, South Carolina, where the company has a passenger and light truck tire manufacturing plant. A winning entry was selected from each of the elementary, middle school and high school divisions.
Chester Park COLT won the elementary division. Great Falls Middle School and Lewisville High School won in their respective divisions.
The entries were judged on April 9-10, and the winning teams were announced on April 11 during an awards ceremony at the Gateway Conference Center in Richburg, South Carolina.
The competition projects were:
- Elementary school team – Develop and use models to describe the characteristics and classifications of the Earth’s continental landforms with emphasis on volcanoes.
- Middle school team – Micro-Drone Lift, tied with the forces and motion curriculum and supporting physical science and engineering principles.
- High school team – Apply physics principles to design and create a device that minimizes the force on an egg during a vertical drop and construct an explanation for the design.
“Participation in this program is strong , and the entries were all very impressive,” said Tim Fulton, CEO of Giti Tire North America. “There’s nothing more important for the future of Chester County and our country than encouraging young people to get interested and involved in STEAM curricula.”
The competing schools were:
Elementary schools:
- Lewisville Elementary
- Great Falls Elementary
- Chester Park School of Arts
- Chester Park COLT
- Chester Park School of Inquiry
Middle schools:
- Lewisville Middle
- Chester Middle
- Great Falls Middle
High schools:
- Lewisville High
- Chester High
- Great Falls High
The entries were judged on: design, written report, collaboration, presentation with a clear use of math and science in the process.
Students apply at the beginning of the school year to become a member of the Giti Math and Science club. The club meets at least 12 times between September and April.