Texas Border Business
By Victoria Brito
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – UTRGV’s Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week introduced a new interactive feature this year, called the STEM+ME Expo.
More than 300 fifth-grade students from Brownsville ISD and San Benito CISD visited UTRGV in Brownsville on Tuesday and had a chance to tour the campus, participate in hands-on activities and demonstrations, and check out some interesting exhibits focused on the “Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences” theme.
The students were treated to a half-day of fun and learning, with presentations from organizations like the Gladys Porter Zoo, Texas Wildlife Association, and the Brownsville Public Utilities Board showing them ways to protect the environment and animals, and serve their communities. Students rotated through five sessions that featured a variety of environmental science programs and interactive activities.
Madison Ortega, a fifth-grade student from the San Benito CISD STEAM Academy, said she had a blast participating in the outdoor activities, which incorporated biology and other sciences.
“I really enjoyed the outdoor activities because we played a game where I was able to learn about the predators and prey of the animal kingdom,” Ortega said.
Ortega’s classmate Azul Silva also enjoyed the same game.
“I liked the game because I got to jump around while learning that bunnies are prey in the wild trying to escape from hawks,” Silva said. “I had a lot of fun today.”
Tina Quintanilla, Ortega and Silva’s teacher, said these types of hands-on experiences are beneficial for her students and very much mirror what they are learning in the classrooms.
“I like all the information they learned today,” Quintanilla said. “They learned about the process of cleaning water, which is important, and we talked about the animal population. All the kids really enjoyed that (prey and predator) game. They really learn by doing.”
The STEM+Me Expo for fourth and fifth-grade students continues Friday, Oct. 5, in Edinburg. In addition, HESTEC Week resumes Wednesday, Oct. 3 with Latina Day in Edinburg and the Fall Career Expo in Brownsville.
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