Put on Your Thinking Caps: “Full STEAM Ahead” STEM Challenge is This Weekend!

When the competitors gather Saturday to embark on the 13th annual Foxcroft STEM Challenge, they will set off on a day filled with collaboration, calculations, deductive reasoning, and — above all else — STEM-tastic fun!

In addition to rotating through stations of stimulating challenges, participants will engage in an imaginative daylong theme, “Full STEAM Ahead,” developed by Foxcroft’s STEM faculty and organizers. Using an app and Kindle Fire assigned to each team, girls will also have the opportunity to answer questions and earn raffle tickets towards a great selection of prizes.

The success and momentum of this annual science, technology, engineering, and math competition keep on rolling. The high school and middle school divisions will welcome students from schools in the NOVA/DC area — including many of your daughters — who will spend the day using their STEM knowledge, deductive reasoning skills, and common sense to solve challenges in the Athletic/Student Center and the science wing of Schoolhouse.

In addition, high school students are invited to attend a post-event career panel with architects, designers, and construction team members from Hord Coplan Macht and Coakley Williams sharing their career paths. Middle school parents and visitors are invited to an informal roundtable featuring Foxcroft Head of School Cathy McGehee, who will explore ways of supporting girls in STEM.

With multiple teams of our own, Foxcroft and teams from Bullis School (Potomac, MD), Holton-Arms School (Bethesda, MD), Wakefield School (The Plains, VA), and homeschool group Primae Res will convene in Engelhard Gymnasium by 8:30am on Saturday. Awards and prize drawings will wrap up the high school event around 1:30pm.

The middle school competition, which takes place in the afternoon, offers a great opportunity for girls to learn about Foxcroft and its STEM program — and have fun! Middle school participants are coming from Blue Ridge Middle (Purcellville, VA), Edlin School (Reston, VA), Green Hedges School (Vienna, VA), Grymes Memorial (Orange, VA), Harmony Middle School (Hamilton, VA), Holton-Arms School (Bethesda, MD), Immanuel Christian School (Springfield, VA), Norwood School (Bethesda, MD), The Hill School (Middleburg, VA), Village School (Charlottesville, VA), Wakefield School’s middle division (The Plains, VA), and Washington Episcopal School (Bethesda, MD). Foxcroft’s team of student tour guides (CAPs) and other volunteers will help the Admission Office staff welcome the middle schoolers and show them around, and their day will end with awards and prizes, too.

See the full schedule of the day. We hope everyone has a STEM-sational time on Saturday!