{"id":3613,"date":"2018-11-26T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3613"},"modified":"2018-11-21T19:53:07","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T19:53:07","slug":"tstc-hosts-first-chemistry-community-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3613","title":{"rendered":"TSTC hosts first chemistry community event"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Eight-year-old Leonard Fuller experimented with sublimation bubbles – converted from a solid to a gas – during Texas State Technical College\u2019s first \u201cChemistry is Out of This World\u201d event recently held at the Wellness and Sports Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to create my own bubbles using dry ice and watching them grow on their own has been my favorite,\u201d said Fuller. \u201cBut creating my chemical base to launch my own rocket was fun too. It\u2019s hard to choose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The homeschooled student said he enjoys studying science and chemistry. He hopes to become a scientist when he grows up.<\/p>\n

The event hosted by TSTC\u2019s Challenger Learning Center and Chemical Technology was a half-day event filled with hands-on activities for families with a goal of exposing \u00a0young children to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs and careers.<\/p>\n

\"TSTC<\/p>\n

Activities such as building a battery, molecule creation, bubble sublimation, HoloChemistry mixed reality, rocket reactions and planetarium shows were only a few that the more than 100 attendees got to enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith STEM education being a priority in all schools and grade levels, we want to plant the seed early and expose students to these amazing fields and the opportunities they can provide,\u201d said Yvette Mendoza, TSTC college readiness coordinator. \u201cAnd there\u2019s no better way to do that than to make learning fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Lola Mejia from Girl Scout troop 1065, the rocket reactions activity launched her interest in chemistry.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy rocket went over the bleachers, it was the best,\u201d said Mejia. \u201cI love baking, but now I love chemistry and science too. I have a lot to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 11-year-old now has two possible career choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cChemistry is Out of This World\u201d was made possible by a grant the TSTC Challenger Learning Center received from the National Informal STEM Education Network, a community comprised of informal educators and scientists dedicated to supporting learning about STEM across the United States, provided all of the supplies necessary for the hands-on activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time we receive this grant and we are so appreciative and grateful to be able to give our community this type of opportunity,\u201d said Mendoza. \u201cAnd the interest we have seen<\/p>\n

from school districts, teachers and the community is immeasurable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendoza said this event and the services the Challenger Learning Center offers throughout the year are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, state curriculum standards set forth for public schools K-12.<\/p>\n

\"TSTC<\/p>\n

Neri Balli, state director for pre-college programs, said the event was a success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a great turn out and it was so much fun seeing how engaged and interested these children were,\u201d said Balli. \u201cOur center and these programs supplement what they are learning in the classroom. This is definitely the first of many community engagement events we hope to host in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next community engagement event \u201cJourney to Mars,\u201d will be held December 1 at the TSTC Cultural Arts Center, in partnership with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cooperative.<\/p>\n

This event will celebrate NASA\u2019s 60th<\/sup> anniversary and the TSTC\u2019s Challenger Learning Center\u2019s fifth anniversary.<\/p>\n

The event is free and open to the public and will consist of toddler and school-aged children activities such as rover building, computer coding, Mars habitat drawings with three-dimensional pens and rocket assembly.<\/p>\n

For more information on the Challenger Learning Center and to register for Journey to Mars call 956-364-4125 or visit bit.ly\/JourneyToMarsHarlingen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Eight-year-old Leonard Fuller experimented with sublimation bubbles – converted from a solid to a gas – during Texas State Technical College\u2019s first \u201cChemistry is Out of This World\u201d event recently held at the Wellness and Sports Center. \u201cGetting to create my own bubbles using dry ice and watching them grow on their own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3616,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613\/revisions\/3616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}