- Howard Bishop Middle School held its 10th annual Family STEAM Night featuring hands-on activities and robotics competitions for students and families.
- The event serves as a fundraiser for the school's robotics program and includes local organizations and interactive science experiments.
Bubbles, smoke, foam and robots were a common sight at Howard Bishop Middle School on Thursday night, as students, family members and staff gathered for the school’s annual Family Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) Night.
The two-hour event took place in the gymnasium and courtyard area of Howard Bishop and featured hands-on, educational, interactive activities for families and students showcasing STEAM in a carnival-like atmosphere.
Outside, students could be seen taking part in robotics competitions while also testing their accuracy and power at the dunk tank.
Students threw balls at the dunk tank to dunk teachers, demonstrating the laws of physics. There was a 30-minute rotation for the dunk tank, so one teacher didn’t have to get dunked for the entire two hours.
Students weren’t the only ones to throw balls at the dunk tank, as School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) Member Janine Plavac also took her turn tossing a few balls and successfully dunking a staff member.
Inside the gym, representatives from over 15 local organizations, including Hands on Gainesville and the Cade Museum, set up interactive activities for families and students to participate in.
One of the hands-on activities students participated in was robot soccer. The activity was led by students in the UFTeach program. Robots were controlled using iPads, and participants had to drive their robot through numbered circles on a soccer field mat and score a goal in that order.
Students also got to take part in experiments involving substances such as dry ice, water, and cornstarch.
At one table, Emily Byinston and her dad, Sean Byinston, were working diligently to create a structure using spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. Emily is a former student at Howard Bishop and is now a freshman at Buchholz High School.
Sean said he has another daughter who currently attends Howard Bishop. He noted that she is in seventh grade.
Sean said this is their fourth year attending the Family STEAM Night event and that he enjoys seeing all the clubs that participate.
Emily also said she enjoys the event, adding that she likes the science part of it and seeing her former teachers.
As the event was winding down, students and families made their way outside to the back of the gym for the grand finale: the “elephant toothpaste” experiment.
The experiment involves the mixing of several substances, including colored dye, hydrogen peroxide and dish soap, to produce an overflowing and large volume of foam.
This year marked the 10th edition of the Family STEAM Night.
In an interview with Mainstreet after the event, Tonya Camaratta, an eighth-grade science teacher at Howard Bishop and one of the event organizers, said the STEAM Night is a fundraiser for the school’s robotics program.
“And celebrating science, because it’s not always celebrated,” she added.
Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.
