North Hills Students Board the STEMi Truck

Last week, the Oakland Schools STEMi truck was stationed in the North Hills parking lot, opening its doors to grade 7 students to explore the world of technology found in many of today’s occupations.

The truck, which transforms into a classroom with hands-on equipment, exposes kids to state-of-the-art technology used in STEM-related careers. The goal is to show students the many fields of work that use science, technology, engineering, and math, and to potentially spark their interest in exploring these paths in the future.

Melanie Kapolka, Oakland Schools STEM consultant, invited students to explore the following stations:

• The car station, which looks like a racetrack, shows users how autonomous driving works, using remote monitored cars that are programmed not to run into each other - even if you try. (Volkswagon uses this technology.)
• The 3D graphic design, with and without 3D glasses, gives users a chance to draw objects and manipulate all sides, move it, or connect it to other objects made.
• When wearing the augmented reality goggles, students could create virtual overlays to test on existing objects. This type of technology has many possible applications, for instance, layering objects, materials, and colors in interior design of a home to designing the intricate details inside cars. (Ford uses this technology.)
• The anatomy surgical simulation gives users various views of the human heart, and the ability to “travel” through the heart to visualize dissection. (Hospitals use this technology.)
• Several different collaborative robot stations showed how the use of joysticks, pedals, and keyboards could control tools for distant surgery or in manufacturing to move large or unsafe materials. (Hospitals and construction companies like Caterpillar use this technology.)

The students enjoyed exploring the various technologies. Griffin Stakoe (grade 7) said, "I liked the STEMi truck because it taught me new skills. I learned how to move an excavator and how to dig on a simulator.” Nella Nordhaus explained it perfectly, saying, "All the technology they showed us can be applied to real life and used in actual situations." Isak Wielkopoian (grade 7) shared more specifically how it could help in the future. "The STEMi truck really taught me important skills since I want to go to a trade school."

Kapolka closed the activity by encouraging students to think about real world situations, asking, “If you could find something you liked and you were good at, and you could make good money at it, you would probably take that job right? I want you to consider as you get older that jobs like that exist.” 

Thanks to Oakland Schools for supporting our students’ education in career readiness in the STEM fields!