Fox Cities News

Vel Phillips Middle School recently collaborated with the Wisconsin Herd to organize a STEAM Summit for students spanning grades 6 through 8. This event aimed to inspire students about STEAM learning opportunities, a field that integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The summit featured renowned hosts Patcasso and DJ Steady Rock, who have been engaging students nationwide with innovative STEAM challenges for over a decade. Patcasso, a performance painter and engineer, emphasized the significance of combining art and science, drawing inspiration from historical innovators like Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci.

Patcasso's speed painting performance, accompanied by DJ Steady Rock's music, captivated students as a painting of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged before their eyes. The event continued with engineering challenges, including constructing towers with marshmallows and spaghetti and designing balloon-powered vehicles for distance travel.

DJ Steady Rock highlighted the importance of incorporating music into educational settings to enhance the learning experience and promote creative thinking among students. The summit concluded with a musical celebration of students' problem-solving achievements, complemented by a special reward from the Wisconsin Herd.

In recognition of students' innovative engineering efforts, the Wisconsin Herd generously gifted each participant two tickets to their upcoming basketball game, reinforcing the value of creative thinking and outside-the-box problem solving in education. The success of the STEAM Summit underscored the commitment of students and staff to academic growth and inspired learning within the Oshkosh Area School District.