Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
STEM@Home brings careers
home over spring break
Hands-on career explo-
rations went home with
thousands of elementary
students over spring break,
thanks to Columbia Gorge
STEM Hub.
Through projects designed
to engage kids and parents
together, families got a
glimpse into what it’s like to
be an aeronautical engineer,
electrician, wildlife biolo-
gist, and technical writer.
The theme that links these
seemingly different careers
is that they are all related to
STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and math).
Each activity also features
a local professional in that
career, including Brennah
Miller, an electrician in
Sherman County. In the
electrician activity, Miller
shared she loves her job be-
cause “every job (she) walks
onto has a new challenge, it
always keeps you thinking
ahead.”
The project is an effort
of the Columbia Gorge
STEM Hub, a program of
the Columbia Gorge ESD
and Oregon Department
of Education, which works
with partners towards the
goal of all students being
STEM-literate and future
ready. The kits are meant
to inspire students to see
themselves as someone who
could someday have a STEM
career, and to help parents
be aware of those future op-
tions for their children, said
a press release.
The STEM @ Home Kits
were distributed through
local elementary schools to
nearly 2,500 students from
Cascade Locks to Mitchell.
Many schools handed out
the kits for use over spring
break, while some will use
them in the classroom this
spring.
Numerous local partners
assisted with the proj-
ect, from companies that
B1
WALLACE & PRISCILLA STEVENSON
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
Students
of the Month
Carter Smith, Grade 6
Nora Ogden, Grade 6
Leland Beyer, Grade 5
Colby Clark, Grade 5
Alayna Cooper, Grade 4
Berenice Barrios
-Vasquez, Grade 4
Above, Ariana, Iselda, and Erik
of The Dalles helped assemble
many of the kits. At right is
the contents of STEM @ Home
Kits.
Contributed photos
provided employee vignettes
to individual volunteers
who supported kit assem-
bly, which was managed
by a staff of two. All written
content is available in both
English and Spanish, with
supporting audio. To help
strengthen the project, Hood
River Extension Service and
4-H offered live (virtual)
sessions over spring break to
guide families through each
exploration.
The STEM Hub re-
ceived a grant from the
Oregon Community
Foundation for the kit
supplies and Columbia
Gorge Community College
provided the space for kit as-
sembly. Several volunteers,
including “Chief Science
Officer” student leaders from
The Dalles and Hood River,
assisted with kit assembly
over February and March,
counting out LEGOs, cutting
electrical copper tape,
SPONSORED BY
bagging birdseed, and stuff-
ing thousands of envelopes
for the Gorge’s future STEM
professionals.
Interested in finding out
more about career connect-
ed learning or the STEM
Hub? Visit www.gorgestem.
org or contact the Hub at
GorgeSTEM@cgesd.k12.
or.us.
509-493-2266
1001 E Jewett Blvd
White Salmon, WA
Happy Kids, Healthy Smiles for a Lifetime
Pediatric Dental Clinic Designed for Your Children
Now offering dental laser technology
anesthesia & pain free dentistry
1935 E. 19th St.
Suite 200
The Dalles, OR
541-296-8901
© 2021 by Vicki
icki Whiting, Editor Je
Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 37, No. 18
419 State Street
Suite 4
Hood River, OR
541-387-8688
How many flowers do you see here?
Take a walk outside and look
around! Chances are you will
see flowers starting to bloom.
April is a month to celebrate
the colorful display of flowers
in our community. Even pesky
weeds bloom this time of year!
Which flower belongs to
which state? Unscramble
the letters underneath each
flower to find out!
camellia
Color these drawings and enjoy the
beauty of some of North America’s
wildflowers!
Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.
ABAALAM
uttercups have cup-shaped flowers made
up of five petals. People used to believe
that the rich yellow color of butter originated
from a high content of buttercups in the
cows’ diet. This belief is false. Cows avoid
buttercups because they are poisonous!
luebonnets are the Texas state
flower. Some grow to be three
feet high! The bluebonnet comes from
the legume (bean) family.
he Indian Paint Brush is
Wyoming’s state flower. It has
been used to make dyes. The main
pollinators of this wildflower are
hummingbirds.
FLOWER: YELLOW
STEM AND LEAVES: GREEN
FLOWER: PURPLE/DARK BLUE
STEM AND LEAVES: GRAY-GREEN
FLOWER: RED-ORANGE
STEM AND LEAVES: GREEN
BLUEBONNET
BUTTERCUP
LEGUME
T N A I D N I H B E
INDIAN
T E N N O B E U L B
FAMILY
E M D O N B T T M H
TEXAS
BLOOM
X O F Y L T R E F R
BRUSH
A L O O E D T U W I
SEEDS
S E O R G S I R S C
AVOID
S M C H U S W O C H
PODS
O U F A M I L Y V W
DYES
STEM
P O D S E E D S S A
COWS
Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical
RICH
words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.
violet
NOSILILI
goldenrod
Look closely: Can you find the two identical bouquets of flowers?
What’s missing?
A
B
C
D
oppies are the California state
flower. They can be found
blooming throughout the state in spring.
Show a friend pictures from the newspaper
with a piece of the picture missing. Then have
them ask questions that can only be answered
“YES” or “NO” to determine what is missing.
EKBRANAS
sunflower
Standards Link: Understand meaning from context clues.
FLOWER: ORANGE
STEM AND LEAVES: GREEN
E
I
F
J
G
K
H
L
On one page of the newspaper,
find and circle the letters that
spell each of the flowers on
this page. Connect the circled
letters to spell each word.
Standards Link: Language Arts: Follow
simple written directions.
Write a poem that describes spring
in your community.
SASANK