RichmondCC Hosts Afterschool STEM Program

March 30, 2021 – Middle school and high school students met virtually for two months with Richmond Community College instructors in an Afterschool STEM program. At the first of March, they brought what they had been learning virtually to campus for hands-on projects.

RichmondCC information technology instructor Brian Goodman and electronics engineering instructor Billie Adeimy taught the students about coding and electronics, while art instructor Andrew Prieto provided information about colors, shapes and other art basics.

"We started the Afterschool program as a way to keep kids involved during COVID. They have been meeting weekly via Teams since January. This was their first face-to-face meeting to bring everything together and work on their projects with the instructors," said Dr. Cynthia Reeves, Associate Dean of Grants and Special Projects at RichmondCC.

The Afterschool STEM program includes two groups: sixth- through eighth-graders and ninth- through 12th-graders. They were provided materials to work on projects at home, including art supplies and single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices. 

The students are building shadow boxes that will house "an environment" of shapes and colors. They will then be adding LED lights to their boxes, programming them to display in a certain manner.

In April, the high school students will learn to fly drones under the guidance of RichmondCC instructor Brian Terry and prepare for the Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate Exam. Students who are 16 or older can take the certification exam.

For more information about the Afterschool STEM, contact Reeves at (910) 410-1817 or careeves@richmondcc.edu.