Families across Columbia can spend their Saturday learning about aerospace and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) through fun activities during Richland One’s Aerospace Festival, hosted by the district’s BLAST (Building Lasting Aerospace and STEM Trajectories) magnet program. The free event will be held at W.A. Perry Middle School (2600 Barhamville Road, Columbia, SC 29204) Saturday, March 23 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
The festival will feature hands-on activities for children including a wind tunnel, a “space docking” team activity and the opportunity to build and launch your own straw rocket. The event will also include rocket and drone demonstrations, a cobra helicopter and food trucks.
The goal of the event is to get students interested in aerospace and STEM.
To learn more about Richland One’s BLAST magnet programs for elementary, middle and high school students, visit www.richlandone.org/choice Applications for magnet choice programs with spots still available for the 2024-2025 school year are due April 30.
Richland One Pre-K Registration opens for 2024-2025 School Year
Registration for Richland One’s free, full-day pre-kindergarten programs for three- and four-year-old children is now open for the 2024-2025 school year.
Richland One’s Pre-K programs provide developmentallyappropriate teaching and learning opportunities that help prepare children for kindergarten. This includes:
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Social, emotional and academic awareness and growth
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Play, collaboration and exploration
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Cognitive, physical and emotional development using a viable curriculum
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Certified and passionate educators who are dedicated to their craft and overseeing the success of young children
Parents must complete the following steps to register their children for 3K or 4K:
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- View a live or recorded parent information session and complete a survey. Two live virtual sessions will be held on May 8 at 1 2 \mathrm { p. m } . and 5 p.m.
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- Complete the new student registration online.
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- Email all the following documents to the Office of School Readiness:
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Birth certificate
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Proof of income (Medicaid card or most recent pay stub)
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Any additional forms or documents that may be requested
4K – Complete the DIAL-4 screening.
3K – Complete the parent interview.
Parents also may contact Richland One’s Office of School Readiness and Prekindergarten Programs at 4K@richlandone.org or 803-799-9494.
Mechanical engineering technology student Kashif Alston, left, tells a visitor about the research project he conducted with Zachary Thomas entitled “Towards Developing an Environment Friendly and Sustainable Campus at SC State: A Best Practice Approach.”
BECT symposium shines light on SC State faculty-student research findings
At South Carolina State University, students are engaged in more than lectures, homework and tests. They are conducting research with real implications in their fields of study.
SC State has a goal of achieving designation as a Research 2 (R2) institution, which would qualify the university for more grants and sponsored programs.
So, on Feb. 15, SC State’s Institute for Business, Environment, Communications & Transportation (BECT) sponsored the inaugural Faculty-Student Research Symposium in the university’s Engineering & Computer Science Complex to demonstrate the collaborative research projects already taking place.
“Some faculty are engaged in funded research projects, but there is much more unfunded research being conducted by faculty and students to remain relevant or advance knowledge in their fields that others do not know about,” said Dr. Barbara Adams, BECT’s executive director.
The symposium, which fulfills one of the objectives of BECT, was designed to highlight and recognize those who are engaged in research and to encourage more collaboration between faculty and students.
SC State President Alexander Conyers applauded faculty and students for their work and discussed his goal to move the university toward becoming an \mathrm { R @ } university.
Elbert Malone, associate provost for sponsored programs and research, was the keynote speaker for the symposium. He provided an overview of the importance of research and the benefits to faculty and the University that would derive from becoming an R2 designated school.
Students and faculty presented 21 research projects, which included 13 oral presentations, seven poster presentations and one visual presentations.
