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Kilby STEM Day is Monday
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Great Bend Kiwanis Club member Frankie Pelster, right, and prospective member Dinorah Charbonneau conduct a scientific experiment, extracting DNA from strawberries, at a recent club meeting. The experiment was led by guest speaker Charlotte Cates from Barton Community College, who talked about the 15th Annual Jack Kilby STEM Day, set for Monday, Nov. 19.

The public is invited to hear keynote speaker Kantis Simmons at  10 a.m. Monday in the Fine Arts Auditorium at Barton Community College.

The 15th Annual Jack Kilby STEM Day will bring high school seniors to Barton Community College on Monday, Nov. 19.

This year’s keynote speaker is school success strategist Kantis Simmons, whose goal is to inspire students, parents and educators to skyrocket their performances in school and life.

As usual, the day will start in the BCC Fine Arts Building where students will check in and hear the keynote speaker. However, this year the speaker will then address teachers and sponsors and any interested members of the community. That 50-minute program is set for 10 a.m. Monday in the Fine Arts Auditorium.

For years, Jack Kilby Science Day brought students to Barton for hands-on science sessions. This year it has been renamed Jack Kilby STEM Day to emphasize Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Simmons’ topic is “STEM is everywhere.” He will discuss various effective developmental habits and learning styles where students can learn it, love it and live it.

Barton biology teacher Charlotte Cates described the program when she spoke to the Great Bend Kiwanis Club on Nov. 7.

The annual event honors Jack Kilby, but is also a way to get kids excited about STEM, Cates said.

“You have been a great supporter of Jack Kilby Science Day,” Cates told club members. Kilby, who graduated from Great Bend High School in 1941, received the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Robert Noyce, for inventing the first integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments in 1958. He also co-invented the handheld calculator and the thermal printer. It made sense to change the name of the annual educational event from Jack Kilby Science Day to Jack Kilby STEM Day.

“Jack Kilby was an engineer,” Cates said. Also, students will have the choice of several hands-on activities Monday. There will be drones, computer activities and a lesson on how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) employees test chemicals.

“Scientists do really fun things,” Cates said. “They have really cool jobs.” She added that the number of jobs in STEM fields is growing, but 2 million of those jobs are unfilled in the United States because people don’t have the skills.