POTSDAM – SUNY Potsdam is hosting approximately 600 middle and high school students from across the North Country and even from New York City this fall, for the College's Careers in STEM Events, sponsored by Arconic.
Students will get the chance to choose from hands-on activities, learning from faculty and students in SUNY Potsdam's programs in science, technology, mathematics and the health sciences.

The participating districts include Beaver River, Canton, Lisbon, Madrid-Waddington, Norwood-Norfolk, Parishville-Hopkinton, Potsdam and St. Lawrence central schools, as well as Ellis Preparatory Academy in the Bronx. The first event was held on Oct. 27, with more visits planned for Friday, Nov. 3 and Tuesday, Nov. 28.
The goal of the unique field trips is to expose young people to opportunities in the STEM fields, working in the College's laboratories and science facilities alongside faculty and current students. Participants can choose from more than 20 different activity sessions -- exploring paleontology fossils, using digital microscopy to view insects, yeasts and chloroplasts, taking in a planetarium show or a chemistry "magic" show, drawing fractal trees in JavaScript, completing an exercise performance test, trying our species' oldest hunting techniques with the atlatl, planting seedlings using aeroponic tower gardens, learning about wilderness survival decision-making, visiting the biology animal lab, and much more.
A free lunch with trivia will be hosted for all participants, thanks to the generous support of Arconic. There will be a discussion about careers in STEM, followed by a raffle.
All sessions will be held in SUNY Potsdam's laboratories and science facilities, including the newly renovated labs and museum in Timerman and Stowell Hall, as well as the WISER Greenhouse.
The Careers in STEM Event is just one of several educational outreach events that SUNY Potsdam faculty and staff have developed over the past year. The College also hosts professional development workshops for area K-12 educators, along with ongoing field trip opportunities to expose young people to a range of fields of study and advanced facilities firsthand. To learn more about the STEM fields at SUNY Potsdam, visit www.potsdam.edu/studystem.