Learning Connected to the Real World

Students worked in teams to chose and research a current problem related to the ocean. Then they worked through our STEM Design Cycle to develop and create a product that would solve their chosen problem. For example, students in Design and Discovery created a product to adjust and balance water temperature and test available nutrients in the water. Different team members were responsible for building the product, and creating a logo, packaging, and magazine articles. Products were built out of recycled materials and included a 3d printed part.

Lomax Incubator Farm in Concord, NC presented a problem to our STEM students of needing a solution for farmers who utilize their space to transport materials and equipment to different fields. Students traveled to Lomax where farm managers showed them the current permanent tool shed. Students took measurements and pictures to use in their design proposal. Prototypes will be developed and our carpentry students will build the portable tool-sheds to deliver to Lomax.

Wells Fargo and Propst Cattle Farms STEM Industry Partnership:

In the summer of 2017, 34 STEM teachers visited Propst Cattle Farm in Concord, NC to learn how STEM is embedded in the cattle industry. One of the many outcomes of this STEMersion visit was the list of real-world problems Propst Farms encounters in their business on a daily basis. One of those problems was the transition of data in the pastures (currently done by hand in a notebook) and then taking that information back to the office and entering it into a computer program. Our Central Cabarrus High School STEM students decided to tackle that problem with the help of Wells Fargo technology infrastructure employee, Raechel Curiel. For the past two years, this group of students has visited the farm multiple times as they create a app that Mr. Moffitt can use on his phone in real time to enter his information in his cow pastures