Placer County Council to Boost to County Schools’ STEM Programs With New Grant
By Brett Davis
On Oct. 6, 2020, Placer County Supervisors Jim Holmes, Cindy Gustafson and Bonnie Gore presented a $1,250 check to the Placer County Council to help spread the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) message and projects in Placer County schools.
The check was accepted by council president and retired rear admiral Bonnie Potter and Donald C. Anderson, the vice president and chairman of the council’s STEM committee.
The council has been working with several schools in the Auburn and Newcastle areas and wants to expand its reach to the eastern and western ends of the county this year. The grant came from the Placer County Board of Supervisors’ Revenue Sharing Program. This is the third time the supervisors have strongly supported the council’s STEM efforts by granting funds to the council. The presentation was arranged by Landon Wolf, supervisor Gore’s district director and Teri Ivaldi of Gore’s staff.
The $1,250 grant, along with funds from the Placer County Council, were used to purchase four SeaPerch kits and a tool kit to assist in the construction of Sea Perch vehicles.
SeaPerch is an educational kit that allows elementary, middle and high school students to construct a simple, remotely operated underwater vehicle from PVC pipe and other readily available materials. The SeaPerch program offers a curriculum-designed project that teaches students basic skills in ship and submarine design and encourages them to explore naval architecture and marine and ocean engineering concepts.
At the completion of their SeaPerch construction, students are encouraged to test their vehicles, deploying them on “missions,” and to compete in the SeaPerch Challenge, a one-day, district-wide competition in which students are given the opportunity to take what they have learned to the next level. The challenge fosters an end goal and rewards sportsmanship, spirit and design skills, as well as mastery of the concepts.
Two SeaPerch kits and a tool kit were donated to Foresthill High School’s Science and Technology Department as additions to their existing STEM projects. The school is located in Foresthill, California. The remaining kits will be donated to another school in Eastern Placer County for its own STEM program.