Middle school students had a unique educational experience in which they learned how the concepts of science, technology, engineering and math connect to many parts of everyday life.

Sixth-graders took a STEM field trip to the United Skates of America in Seaford and attended a lesson and hands-on activities that directly related to what they are learning in their classroom. Following the lesson, they roller skated and continued to grasp laws of motion and other aspects of physics. The students also measured and calculated speeds of themselves running and skating and also used mean, median and mode to compare their roller skate sizes.

“I was really impressed with the students’ knowledge of the different STEM ‘superstars,’” said math teacher Megan Ryan, referring to historic and contemporary dignitaries in the STEM field such as Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Steve Jobs. “The lessons we participated in were great ways to connect math to real life; and [of the roller skating] it was fun to watch so many students do something they had never done before!”