Sixth-grade Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students at Nimitz Middle School attended the University of Texas at San Antonio Science Extravaganza on March 29. The Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists of UTSA hosted the engineering/science event to benefit the STEM students.

"What an awesome experience," stated Melissa Gossett, STEM robotics teacher. "It was a great experience for sixth-graders to see the college campus. It was also nice to see college students working with the same engineering projects as STEM students."

The extravaganza offered many events. Some included, a contest to build the tallest tower out of 20 straws, five paper clips and a small amount of tape while being able to hold a tennis ball at the top. One of the groups was able to build a tower slightly shorter than the instructor's. In another event, students were asked to build a bridge out of two blocks of wood and six paper clips. Students competed on whose bridge could hold the most amount of pennies. The record was set at 418 pennies. Another event was an egg drop contest - students had to protect their egg during a drop using popsicle sticks, one meter tape and 15 straws. The next event had students build a mini-rocket made of film canisters. They launched their rockets using water and Alza-Seltzer. The final event involved chemistry. Students made slime pass through a straw to find out how long it would take polymers to pass through a tube.

"Overall, this was a great field trip, and everyone enjoyed it," said Gossett. "Thank you to UTSA for hosting."