Before the local schools started their long holiday break, fifth-grade students from Fort Belvoir Elementary School had two days of unique learning that took them to the ends of the Earth.
In the Escape the Planet Coding Challenge, students and volunteers from the Belvoir AFCEA Space Alliance (BASA) completed a fictional mission to Planet X. Throughout the mission, students learned computer coding, created a small computer called a micro:bit, created circuits and graphics and then added sound.
The journey to get to the event took over a year of planning. The initial concept was to sponsor a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school-based hackathon, hosted virtually by AFCEA, to allow DoDEA schools worldwide to participate alongside local public schools in various coding challenges. There was unanimous interest, and preparations for the hackathon got underway. Then, the global pandemic hit. As the response to COVID-19 defined a new normal for society, the Virtual Hackathon Invitational Committee launched regular planning sessions to develop a small-scale pilot to demonstrate a local proof of concept. The committee invited Nancy Rowland and Kara Fahy from Fairfax County Schools to join the team. Together, the committee developed a hackathon that supported the school's current coding curriculum while providing fifth-grade level students an opportunity to participate in a series of (fun!) coding challenges.
Over 150 students across seven classrooms participated in the challenge. Jim Evans, chapter president, said the collaborative effort, all possible through volunteers, showed the students' enthusiasm for learning. "In some tasks, the students had a 10-minute deadline; however, they were already so smart and knew to work together, enough for them to complete it in three minutes," Evans said. One student, 10-year-old Grace Levin, said proudly, "It was really fun, and I learned to make a circuit!"
A diverse cast with unique STEAM careers was chosen to play key parts in the scripted event. Lt. Ryan Quarry, USCG, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Cyber Department, served as the BASA coding commander. The BASA director, played by Thomas Perry, AFCEA board member and president of VGSystems, presented the coding challenges and kept the students mission-focused. Eleanor Sigrest served as the Indigo Mission commander. A model for all things #STEM and #STEAM, Eleanor is a freshman at Stanford University, a Davidson Fellow recipient and national winner of the first American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)-sponsored payload competition for experiments to go into space in partnership with space company Blue Origin. Wrapping the event with a mission out-brief and awards ceremony was special mission guest Lisa Young, supervisory objects conservator lead at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
"We are absolutely impressed by the fifth-graders," Evans said and added that AFCEA would like to offer similar STEAM events in the future.
|
