When You Can’t Travel to an Event? Create Your Own

Durham teachers teamed up with Duke Engineering to make their own STEM expo

Shot of hands building something on a table
As part of the Innovation for Humanity expo’s events, students designed a small car to serve as a Mars rover.

The following is a summary of a story by Ken Kingery on Pratt School of Engineering. 

Who says middle schoolers can’t solve big problems?

When a technology-focused event proved too far away, a Durham middle school teacher leveraged a growing relationship with Duke Engineering to create one instead. The result was Innovation for Humanity, a STEM expo that challenged students to think and design like engineers.

The competition brought together 14 teams from three Durham middle schools for a range of hands-on challenges. Students built hydraulic-powered lifting devices, designed Mars rover-style vehicles, created educational computer games and produced short films about local science or health issues. They knew the skills they would need, but not the exact challenges until competition day.

The event quickly became about much more than winning medals.

“My school is more known for athletics, and a lot of times our more academic kids get overlooked,” said Neal Middle School teacher Kayona Acheampong. “This event gave them the opportunity to work as a team.”

Her students embraced the chance. After winning three of the four competitions, Acheampong said they proudly wore their medals to school the next day and immediately started talking about next year’s event.

Duke faculty were equally impressed. “I was really impressed by the students’ engagement, excitement and help-seeking skills, and they all ended up with projects they were proud of,” said Siobhan Oca, assistant professor of the practice of mechanical engineering who helped organize the event.

Teachers said the competition showed why introducing STEM careers in middle school matters. Students discovered they were capable of tackling difficult challenges now.

Parents noticed the difference, too. Rogers-Herr teacher Tabetha Jones-Evans said many told her the competition helped their children feel they could “be a part of something great.”

After its successful debut, organizers hope Innovation for Humanity becomes an annual tradition.

To see the full story and photos, go to Pratt School of Engineering.