Cape Cod Technology Council Member Directory

Last week, just before our annual dinner, we hosted the second Jr Tech Expo. Just a short flight up the stairs from the networking and keynote was our very own future.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education is a hot topic these days and there is a growing consensus that is not just about education, but it is equally about economic development. Thinking, reasoning, problem solving and creativity are key to growing and competing in the coming years – and these are precisely the skills one learns when studying any of the STEM areas.

On that second floor were middle and high school students, parents, and instructors. And there were dozens of stories, each of which added one more facet to why STEM opportunities matter.

And there were parents who beamed at their sons’ and daughters’ presentations – because as all parents know, there is nothing better in the whole wide world than seeing your child shine with achievement and pride.

Next week, during February school vacation, Jr Tech is running four workshops which reflect the diversity of technology. Photoshop Skillz is about digital media, Mini-controllers is about programming and computer science, Wind Turbines is about physics and energy technology, and NASA Design Challenge is about exploration and engineering, using technology to push the boundaries of our known world.

I wish I were age-eligible for these! I want to build a lunar rover too!

You see, STEM is not about memorizing facts. It makes me deeply sad to think that the excitement in exploring how something works or in learning to use digital tools to create a piece of art has, for many people, been squashed by some belief that STEM boils down to reciting the periodic table of elements.

And worse yet, that only “smart’ people are capable of it all.

Geez, we are all born little scientists. As infants our sole function is to explore, test, and make sense of our world. We are hard wired to be STEM experts. Every single one of us.

And there are so many sides to it, too. That’s what we try to do through Jr Tech as well as through our own CCTC – to show that “technology’ is part of all aspects of a human’s interaction with the world and that there’s nothing scary or mysterious about it. And that there’s something in that STEM basket that delights and engages each of it.

For some – kids and adults – that might be making a digital movie and understanding how frame rates create an illusion of motion. For others it might be how technology can nurture our natural environment. Figuring out how to turn some balsa wood and PVC pipes into a device that generates power might be a point of fascination. I don’t need to go on and on – you get the point. STEM is in everything we do. And it is wicked cool.

Not that ‘knowing facts’ is unimportant – facts are critical building blocks to thinking. But when facts can be found within a hands-on application, those formerly dry and boring nuggets suddenly make a transition from data to knowledge. Knowing how to be part of that transition is the key skill in all the STEM disciplines – and, for that matter, in navigating our daily world.

So those kids at the Jr Tech Expo were having a great time. And they were reminding me that with a generation like this, the future can only be bright. And that's the coolest thing of all.