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Our mission is to develop a sustainable STEM pipeline in Northern Virginia. We engage students in elementary school and inspire them to continue pursuing STEM education in high school, college and the workforce through a collaboration with schools, businesses and community organizations.

We do STEM camps, competitions, STEMinars, Teacher Professional Development, STEM Expos and more. These are all centered on the critical need for a hands-on, activity based approach to learning STEM through collaboration and innovative teaching methods.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) are the core components of a competitive economy. Northern Virginia has a critical shortage of skilled workers in these areas and we are committed to improving this problem and building the future STEM workforce.

OUR ACTION

OUR CHALLENGE

OUR MISSION

NOVA’S STEM OUTREACH PROGRAM

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WE DO STEM CAMPSFrom 2016 to 2018 over 2,400 students have attended our hands-on STEM camps, including robotics, cybersecurity, arduino and many more. Our average camp is 20 students led by a classroom teacher assisted by a high school or college student involved in a technical program.

WE DO STEM COMPETITIONSWe help students develop their skills and provide training for new coaches and support robotics competitions, the Cool Code Awards, and AFA’s CyberPatriot. We run the VA VEX Robotics State Championship, which is recognized as one of the top events in the country.

46%camp growth from

2016 to 2018

of VEX events used our trailer system in

2017 & 2018

WE DO STEM EXPOsWe coordinate on-campus STEM Days, engage with local STEM events at libraries and schools, participate in Maker Faires, and bring STEM to large community events and educational conferences such as Celebrate Fairfax, YFT Country Fair & Auctions, and the USA Science & Engineering Festival.

525Kestimated attendees from EXPOs we exhibited at in

2017-2018

60%

WE DO STEM INTERNSHIPSWe provide a platform for STEM-driven students to gain valuable skills and experience through internships. We have excellent opportunities for qualified high school/college students with experience in designing and building robots, programming, rocketry, CAD, arduino and cybersecurity.

10Interns taught18 STEM Camp

Sessions in 2018

WE DO STEMINARSWe operate hands-on STEM workshops and teacher professional development to support the growing demands of the workforce. We work with teachers on many levels to increase their skills and respond to the rapid pace of change in STEM education as technologies develop.

8school divisions supported

in NOVAʼs region

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We have the most exciting and educational

summer STEM camps in Northern Virginia. Led by

STEM teachers and college students enrolled in STEM

programs, our STEM Camp program introduces Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Math to thousands of

grade-school students.

Camps are focused on hands-on, project-based learn-

ing that provides students with excellent opportunities

to begin exploring STEM fields and to chart a course for

future STEM education and workforce opportunities.

Our summer camps are dispersed throughout the

northern Virginia to provide equitable access to high

quality STEM enrichment. 59 Scholarships for financial

assistance were awarded between 2016-2018.

Enro

llmen

t %

46% growth since 2016

950 registrations, 823 unique students

Highlights

LocationsFCPS, LCPS & PWCS Schools

NOVA AL & LO Campuses

Oath & Micron

Sponsors include:

Participation 2018

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STEM Camps help build regional capacity for STEM

education. Of the 111 unique instructors we’ve hired

from 2016 to 2018, about one third are professional

K-12 teachers, who acquire new skills and have the

opportunity to bring new ideas back to their schools.

We also hire college students, enrolled in STEM

programs, and high school students who are engaged

in STEM education through school or competitions, as

camp instructors. In this role they have the opportunity

to share their passion with younger campers and help

guide them on STEM Education pathways.

While expanding our STEM Camp program, we strive to

reach underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Our

STEM middle school camp has a 60/40 boy-girl ratio

while our STEM and Coding ES camps have a 50/50

ratio, a balance we’re targeting across all camps.

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Grade Level

Num

ber o

f Uni

que

Stud

ents

MALEFEMALE

STEM Camp Participation by Region 2018

STEM & Coding Elementary

MALE50%

FEMALE50%

STEM Camp Participation by Gender/Grade Level 2018

ALEXANDRIA ANNANDALE LOUDOUN PRINCE WILLIAM

2016 2017 2018

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Reg

istr

atio

ns

Why VEX Robotics?

Attributes of VEX Robotics Participants

We support VEX in Virginia because it is integrated into

many of the school divisions through PLTW, Scouts,

and TSA, making it an excellent platform to get students

started in STEM so that they are prepared beyond our

camps and competitions. Students who participate in

VEX Robotics demonstrate a number or qualities we

strive to teach such as, teamwork, collaboration,

creativity in problem solving, communication, critical

thinking skills, and time management.

Students and Teachers develop and refine their

STEM talents through competitions. Research*

shows that students who participate in STEM competitions

are more likely to pursue a STEM degree. We support

competitions such as AFA CyberPatriot, the Cool Code

Awards, Science Fairs, FIRST Robotics and particularly

VEX Robotics.

Kelly Miller, Gerhard Sonnert & Philip Sadler (2018) The influence of studentsʼ participation in STEM competitions on their interest in STEM careers, International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 8:2, 95-114, DOI: 10.1080/21548455.2017.1397298

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Growth of VEX Teams in VA 2010 to 2018

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018201120100

100

200

300

400

500

600

Num

ber o

f Te

ams

Total VEX Teams

VRC Teams

VIQC Teams

Growth of VEX Events in Northern VA

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 20180

10

20

30

5

15

25

35

Num

ber o

f VEX

Eve

nts NOVA Service Area

Outside NOVA

2010: 5 Event Partners | 2018: 30 Event Partners

67% used a NOVA TrailerEvents avg 20 Teams and 100 StudentsOver 2,500 students supported

39 VIQC Events 2015-2018

91 VRC Events2015-2018

62% used a NOVA TrailerEvents avg 33 Teams and 200 StudentsOver 11,000 students supported

Two 16ft VRC TrailersOne 14ft VIQC TrailerSTEM Interns to setup, run, and pack equipment

C H A L L E N G E

Since 2014 NOVA Systemic has run the VEX Robotics

State Championship (called States).

The Showcase Event for Robotics

This year, States was held on Feb 16-17 in Doswell, VA.

141 commonwealth teams (ranging from elementary to

high school) competed for a chance to represent Virginia

at the World Championship in Louisville, KY. Of the 141

teams at States, 83% were from Northern Virginia.

It takes more than 100 volunteers to make this event a

success. We recruit student and adult volunteers as well

as college students from institutions all over the

commonwealth. Of the 40 judges at States18, 75%

were college students.

The two day tournament was comprised of students

playing the plastic platform VEX IQ game, Ringmaster

(elementary and middle school) and the more advanced

metal platform VRC game, In The Zone (middle and high

school). Like an athletic event, States is known for

passion and intensity as students hone their teamwork

and STEM skills in competition.

Many Northern Virginia teams earned places at the

World Championship by earning Tournament Champion,

Design or Excellence awards.

Doswell, VAwill be held on March 1-2, 2019

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Our States18 guest speakers recognized the

importance of robotics in STEM education, including

NOVA President, Dr. Scott Ralls, First Lady of Virginia

Pamela Northam, VA Secretary of Education Atif Qarni,

Micron VA Site Director Tim O’Brien, Lockheed Stategy

and Business Development VP Darrell Durst, and

Robotics Education Foundation CEO Dan Mantz.

VIP Speakers

Girl-Powered! All the girls competing at States18

RALLS NORTHAM QARNI OʼBRIEN DURST MANTZ

Sponsors

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Held each year at the Loudoun, Alexandria and Manassas Campuses. They are free events that attract thousands of people to participate in exciting hands-on STEM activities, including drone flying, robotics, VR, chemistry, cybersecuri-ty, 3D printing and more! Each year these STEM Days attract between 2,500 and 3,000 people to a NOVA campus. In 2018 we held 4 STEM Days at NOVA.

At the Youth for Tomorrow Country Fair & Auctions. The STEM Zone is a hub of hands-on STEM activity that engages and inspires young minds. With a STEM passport in hand, students complete STEM tasks to learn, have fun, and win prizes. Each year over 20,000 people attend the Country Fair & Auctions. In 2018 we held our third STEM Zone at YFT.

We also participate in the USA Science & Engineering Festival, which draws over 350,000 people and Celebrate Fairfax, which has more than 70,000 in attendance each year. In April 2018 we returned for the second time to USASEF and in June held our 4th expo at Celebrate Fairfax.

Since 2015, over a million people have had the opportunity to see one of our STEM exhibits. Expos are an important tool in preliminary STEM engagement. Our signature STEM Expo events are:

10 20 20 18

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Cyber STEMinar at NOVA Annandale

We offer STEMinars (or workshops) throughout the

year to bring new STEM technologies to light and new

students into STEM. Offerings range from cybersecurity,

computer animated design and coding to making

activities with 3D printing, laser engraving and electronics.

We work with public and private schools, libraries and

community groups to support STEM within their

organizations. In 2018 NOVA SySTEMic presented at

the VTEEA conference on VEX Programs, coding in

RobotC, and 3D printing with advanced materials.

NOVA SySTEMic works with 8 school districts to

provide teacher professional development (PD), which

is essential to building regional STEM capacity. Our

STEM Education Coordinators work with each

school division to provide hands-on technical training to

support teachers in academic and co-curricular

programs. In 2018, PD sessions included Raspberry Pi,

Kano, Scribbler Robotics, Arduino, VEX IQ Robotics

and RobotC, reaching over 120 teachers with the

potential to reach 10,000 students in the first year alone.

Professional Development9 STEMinar sessions Oct thru Dec 2018

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Each year we employ high school seniors and college students as interns to assist our programs. A majority of interns work during the summer break while a few work through-out the year. Interns utilize their skills in STEM, education, and marketing to help us develop or refine components of our programs. During the year we retain between 4 and 6 interns for program support.

Interns provide a vital array of services: for STEM camps, they review and develop curriculum and activities as well as leading camp instructor training and teaching camps. This summer 10 interns helped teach 18 camp sessions and helped with logistics of summer camp equipment.

For STEM competitions, interns prepare robotics trailers with new game sets for the coming season as well as documenting equipment for competition support. During the year, interns also support many local competitions by setting up and running events. During the State Championship interns are tasked with preparing and running particular areas of the event.

For our STEM EXPOs, interns play a large role in the planning, packing of equipment and execution of the events, and for our STEMinars they prepare presentations for teacher professional development and hands-on workshops for middle and high school and college students.

In the summer of 2018 we had more than 20 interns working for us from 6 high schools across Northern Virginia and 8 colleges and universities from VA, NY, & PA

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In the spring of 2019, NOVA will open a state-of-the-art engineering technology fabrication laboratory, referred to as the Fab Lab, on the Manassas campus. This facility is made possible through a grant from the Growth and Opportunity Virginia (GO Virginia) economic development program and in collaboration with Micron Technology, U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Sensors Directorate, Prince William Service Authority and BAE Systems. The Fab Lab will house the A.A.S in Engineering Technology as well as a Makerspace for college and community engagement.

The Fab Lab will serve as a hub to connect industry to the developing technology workforce and support NOVA’s industry aligned A.A.S in Engineering Technology program. The revitalized A.A.S. degree adds a focus in mechatronics to NOVA that will prepare students for employment as technicians, operators and/or technologists in the fields of mechanical, industrial or electrical engineering technology.

The Fab Lab will offer state-of-the-art equipment for instructional and training use such as modular automation systems, high and low voltage electronics, fluid and power control systems and a full “Smart Factory” mechatronics system to teach how to control manufacturing, maintenance, inventory and supply chain operations.

In addition to academic classes at NOVA, the Fab Lab will furnish a Makerspace, which will be leveraged as part of NOVA’s STEM outreach through NOVA SySTEMic. The Fab Lab will support workshops for the community and have opportunities for NOVA faculty and students to include hands-on project based learning.

The Makerspace will feature a 3D scanner, 3D printers, laser engraver, plastic thermoforming machine, a vinyl printer/cutter and a full woodworking shop as well as a computer aided design (CAD) computer lab featuring SolidWorks software.

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