Throughout the Liberty County Performing Arts Center on Saturday, students built towers out of airplanes, finished sutures on implanting pacemakers and more.
It was part of a daylong STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — camp for 50 students, led by Shirley Posey, the founder and CEO of NeuroElite. The Summer STEM Innovation, as it was called, was designed to ignite “future innovators through STEM, AI and space exploration.”
Midway Mayor pro tem Annie Foskey, the event’s co-chair, reached out to Posey and told her of the need for a summer STEM program in Liberty County.
“One of the things I see is children do need to learn how to think critically,” Foskey said.
Posey, who has put together STEM programs in Africa and across the U.S., set up a number of challenges for the students, who were divided by age groups. They had to build towers out of paper strong enough to support small figurines and then finished their morning exploring the human heart, learning about pacemakers. They even learned how to install them and how to sew the heart back together with sutures.
“You really want to develop the minds of young people and cultivate them on how to think,” Posey said. “When you see them change through this type of STEM learning, you can see the community change. We’re able to engage gifted elementary to high school kids. We’re very strategic on how we deliver the information.”
Organizers also hope the experiences of STEM will foster more exploration from the students in those fields — especially when it comes time for them to choose a career.
“The one thing that encouraged me is we do have a future,” said Riceboro Mayor Chris Stacy. “But if we don’t educate our kids on STEM, how do we grow? I wish every elected official could come see this.”
“Some of the things Ms. Posey brings are to develop that critical thinking that will fall into economic development, which in turn brings in more revenue and income,” Foskey added. “We are truthfully thankful for this opportunity.”
The initial STEM summer camp was limited to 50 children. Organizers had to turn away prospective attendees at the door.
Posey wants to expand the program in the future to include more students and bring them into the STEM world.
“The Lowcountry is a gem and we have bright scholars who need this type of education,” she said.
Foskey also is eager to see the program grow and believes it will.
“I am beyond excited,” she said. “I think large, and this is going to be a greater impact to our community. I can’t wait to see the outcomes. I can’t wait to hear the responses.
It’s not just the number of children Posey wants to see grow — it’s the number of times they can hold the camp, too.
“That’s why we need this kind of program throughout the year,” she said. “We want this throughout the entire year. We need this throughout the year.”
