STEM Trifecta

VA Beach City Public Schools

Department of Teaching & Learning

Office of Technical and Career Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 13, 2016
Virginia Beach, VA

It’s robot season again in Virginia Beach City Public Schools, and this year’s annual challenge has gotten a facelift. Now known as the STEM Trifecta, this year’s challenge will feature the long-standing STEM Robotics Challenge, Maker Challenge, and the newly added Cyber Security Challenge. In its eighth year, the Office of Technical & Career Education has expanded this year’s theme to include STEM in Sports (Baxter Goes Golfing), 3-D Printing (Maker Challenge with Shark Tank-style pitches), and now Cyber Security (with students defending a cyber breach).

The 2016 STEM Trifecta will be held on Friday, June 3rd at the Virginia Beach Convention Center from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Over 66 VBCPS K-12 schools are learning about robotics, 3-D printing, entrepreneurship and cyber security on a local level in a year-long after school context, making this the largest STEM event in VBCPS history! With the expansion of this event and the expectation of more than 1,600 attendees, the 2016 Trifecta’s expected volunteers and guests include military personnel, local business leaders, school board members, community supporters, and VBCPS administration. The opening ceremony will kick off with opening statements from VBCPS Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence and Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms.

Open and free to the public, please join us for a day of fun, learning, and excitement as elementary, middle, and high school students take on the robotics challenge theme of Baxter Goes Golfing in which students will use their robots to strike golf balls on various golf hole courses. For the Maker Challenge, students will be presenting their team-made 3D printed products to a panel of judges in hopes of a winning investment. The Cyber Security challenge allows high school students to defend a cyber breach created by the Navy Cyber Company, while the elementary and middle school students will present their cyber security research pitches. We’ll be using the hashtag #VBTrifecta2015 for all social media during event day. For more information on the 2016 STEM Trifecta or if you would like to volunteer, please contact Stephanie L. Sutton by email or at 757-648-6180.