In an effort to make STEM education more accessible throughout Southern Nevada, STEM field trips for Clark County School District (CCSD) students are making their highly anticipated return for the new school year. The field trips are made possible through a special partnership between the NNSS Outreach & Engagement team and subject matter experts, CCSD and the Atomic Museum.
Beginning Oct. 2, and continuing on a monthly basis through April 2025, NNSS STEM professionals are taking their expertise to the Atomic Museum to benefit CCSD middle and high schoolers. Each event builds student connections between the Site’s historical foundation covered at the museum to our diverse present-day mission, provides educational guidance and pathways for pursuing a STEM career, and enables hands-on demonstrations that connect STEM principles to real-world applications.
“Watching the students get excited about STEM and having the concepts ‘click’ is the whole reason I volunteer at these events,” said NNSS Senior Engineer James Majdanac. “We’re here to make science fun and let students explore their thoughts and ask questions. I was always a student that sat toward the back of the classroom and never had a huge interest in STEM. It wasn’t until college where I combined my interests of building, design and problem solving and chose to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. Students always ask, ‘what does a scientist, physicist or engineer really do?’ and giving these students a small taste of what we do at the NNSS and the science behind our demonstrations can be so beneficial and encouraging for them at an early age.”
The NNSS is the proud sponsor of the transportation costs and museum admission for every student and chaperone. The 2024-2025 season, the third year of the program, is anticipated to make an impact on more than 650 middle and high school students.
“Middle and high school is the time in your life where your interests really start to build,” added Majdanac. “Parents and teachers start asking what you want to do in life, and most kids can’t give a straight answer. I know I certainly couldn’t at that age. Having students at this age get exposed to STEM principles and real-world applications is crucial. It allows them to connect the dots in their head and gain a better understanding of how their interests can turn into a STEM-related career. It allows them to talk to STEM professionals and ask how they got into the position that they’re in and what those stepping stones looked like in terms of schooling or training.”
See all facets of NNSS Outreach at nnss.gov/community/nnss-outreach/.
