The Herrin High School Science Club had a unique opportunity to participate in a regionally attended event. On October 30, the club sent eight members to represent HHS and participate in the second annual STEM Day event at John A Logan College. The event, which attracted over 200 students from across the region, allowed students to explore science, engineering, and math through exciting activities and competitions. HHS students even took home several highly sought-after awards and scholarships.
Upon arriving at John A, attendees were checked in and placed at their assigned tables. All of those attending from Herrin sat together, which helped create a sense of unity. Even from the start of the event, Herrin had much reason to be celebratory. During the introductory ceremony, senior Braden Davis won a $3,000 scholarship drawing for John A Logan College, one of only three given out throughout the day. This excitement didn’t stop there, though; it just carried over into the events to follow.
The main competition of the day was called the “Pumpkin Chunkin”. Each participating school received a life-size, 6-foot-tall catapult that was built by the John A. engineering students. The objective of the contest was to launch a pumpkin the furthest distance, which could be done by adjusting the catapult’s launch angle. The students from Herrin diligently worked to calculate the best possible angle, and the hard work paid off; Herrin came home with a first-place trophy for the furthest launch distance, best precision, and closest accuracy.
Throughout the rest of the day, students got to attend various STEM-related breakout sessions. Sessions varied from dissections and anatomy to AI and math calculations. One session, the Math Gauntlet, offered a $3,000 scholarship to the student who could earn the highest score. Herrin senior Tyler Dodson soared to victory and won the highly coveted prize. Asked about the prize, Tyler responded, “It was so exciting to win the scholarship and the contest. The entire day was enjoyable, and all of the events were fun.
Herrin Science Club sponsor Stacy Jones was elated about the outcome of the day. “This is our second year of having this club at our school, and it also marks the second year of STEM Day. This year included quite a few more breakout sessions, and they were all actually different from last year,” Jones stated. Although she enjoyed the entire event, Mrs. Jones explained that her favorite memories were “seeing two students from Herrin win the scholarships as well as the pumpkin rolling. It made me proud to see the success we had.
Junior attendee Lizzy Freeman found the whole day to be an interactive learning experience that allowed her to experience new things. “In my breakout session on biology, we got to poke around and examine a dead rat, and watched the professor dissect a cat. I hadn’t experienced that before, so it was definitely unique to learn about,” Freeman elaborated.
Senior Christopher Banks found that his favorite breakout session was one on cybersecurity, but added that the session on AI was just as enjoyable because of the “interesting process of coding we got to do and the prizes of free food”. He found the event to be beneficial to him and says he learned a great deal STEM STEM-related subjects.
As the students arrived back at the school, they were proud of the successes of the day. They all agree that their favorite memory was the teamwork and bonding experience the event fostered. Mrs. Jones is already looking forward to going back to STEM Day next year to “win the contest two years in a row”. The HHS Science Club is looking forward to attending more events in the coming months.
