9th Annual STEM Fair

By Isabel Diehl

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f15fcc_ec5f858a1c644bb99e0e35593d1e9803/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Delran High School hosted the 9th Annual Delran STEM Fair on Monday, May 18th, 2026. This annual event showcases STEM throughout the Delran Community, featuring student work from all schools, local community organizations, and local businesses and partners. This year’s theme, “The STEM of Music and Art” lead to an extraordinary enthusiasm for the activities available to the participants. Despite the high heat, reaching 96 degrees, over 500 guests and vendors participated!

Outside, preceding the registration table, food from Kona Water Ice as well as additional reusable water bottles and snacks were available from the Delran Secondary PTA. The Delran Fire and Police Departments were present to showcase their vehicles and the STEM they use on their jobs. The South Jersey EV Club also held an electric vehicle showcase under the solar canopy, answering questions from the community about EVs. The music pumping from the EVs was extraordinary!

FabLab and Engineering Activities

Upon entering the FabLab, participants could join DHS and DMS engineering staff Mrs. Jill Radwell, Mr. Shaun Deloche and Mr. Paul Maraldo to “CONDUCT THE CURRENT”. This activity allowed learners to “Touch, Test, and Tune into Science” while turning everyday objects into instruments! They tested the electrical conductivity of water glasses, giant metal 'piano keys', and everyday objects to trigger digital musical notes by completing a MaKey MaKey circuit.  Thanks to a grant from Lockheed Martin, for integration of electronics into engineering, this event as well as two other STEM Family Engagement events had lots of circuitry experiences.

After exiting the FabLab, student translators were available to provide their services to families. In the gym, an array of activities, demonstrations, and informational tables were set up for the community. This area was consistently bustling with activity, with many clubs and organizations showcasing their work in STEM.

One of the tables visited was for Marketa’s Journey. This 501(c)3 non-profit is in memory of Marketa McCabe, an engineering student who advocated for underrepresented women in STEM fields. In her memory, there are annual scholarships, nature and conservation efforts, and general awareness of impactful scientific research. Their table provided a hands-on demonstration about the impacts of water pollution and storm runoff. This year, senior STEMbassador Allison Lucuski was awarded the scholarship. Allison will be headed to The University of Connecticut in the fall, majoring in Environmental Engineering, as her experience in AP Environmental Science, along with her experiences in the Fab Lab have given her an appreciation for the intersection between science and human need for engineering designs, especially the creation of clean water systems.

Green Teams and Other Sustainability Efforts

Creating music was the leading theme for the Green Teams. With repurposed parts from the DIS Green Team, students created their own instruments.  Students gave new life to discarded materials by turning them into unique musical instruments.

The DMS Green Team was run by two middle school students, Mehmet (Jimmy) Gundogdu and Skylar Marshall, with their Sustainability Project Managers, Mrs. Katie Conroy and Mr. Rick Cameron, looking on with pride. Jimmy and Skylar helped young learners to build their own “artful” compost. DMS has an incredible school lunch waste program, with a biodigester included in all food preparation and disposal routines throughout the school year.

The Millbridge Green Team made a fun STEM activity that teaches the science of sound, vibration, and pitch by creating a harmonica using materials commonly found at home.  This project demonstrates how airflow causes materials to vibrate, producing sound waves. Mrs. Rachel Affrunti and Miss Julia Trost had one of the most popular booths, as the sound of the harmonicas filled the air throughout the fair.

The township’s Green Team was also present. This volunteer organization works with the Sustainable Jersey municipal efforts to raise awareness and protect our natural resources. Learners discovered how natural materials can be transformed into music! They used bamboo (which is an invasive species), which they repurposed into a whistle or flute. They also had other examples and instructions for creating other simple instruments using materials found right in your own backyard.  They shared with parents how to get involved in the town’s Delran Green Team, as well as how their students can design an “Anti-Littering Poster” to help promote cleaner parks and a greener Delran community.  Posters will be displayed throughout our local parks!

From the community, the Burlington County Parks System offered many nature-themed interactive activities and information, including  from Burlington County Ranger, Andrew Smith along with Gina DiMaio from the Burlington County Parks System. Their interactive activity focused on comparative anatomy with a display of (replica) wildlife skulls of various species. They also highlighted bird calls/songs of year-round and resident species in our parks system. Outreach information highlighting upcoming parks programming will also be available.

A variety of student work was on display from the DMS and DHS Science Fairs. These students are to be honored in the Board of Education Meeting the evening of May 19th. There was information to keep the learning engaging throughout the summer at the STEAM Up! Camp table, led by high school math teacher Mrs. Jacky Carey. Camp runs from July 6 through July 30; the registration deadline is May 26. Read more about the camp and register here.

Robotics in Delran Schools

Beginning in second grade, students begin learning about robotics. Over an 8-week cycle, students learn about motors, sensors, coding and more through a visual program, Lego WeDo 2.0. This program also offers stories to watch or read with each of the robotics activities, incorporating literacy with STEAM. In grades three through five, students also experiment with Lego robotics programs in an afterschool program. Running three sessions, with up to 60 students in each grade per session, these students use a visual code called Block coding to program their Lego robots. These skills scale with grade levels. At the middle school’s table, Joshua B. and Necip E. walked me through a demonstration of their Oceania-themed Lego robotics. They had over a dozen robots they had created for various marine and ocean technologies in mind, each serving different purposes. They meet after school and noted that while they learn a lot in the program, they are passionate about the topic and also take the initiative to learn more outside of club time. Noting how much fun the program is, they demonstrated a growth mindset, stating that robotics can be trial and error, but they keep trying and learning from any mistakes. At all of the robotics tables, the advisors were present, but the students really took ownership of their learning and creations, leading the demonstrations and answering questions. Additionally, Delran Intermediate School’s NJIT eSTEM Challenge team presented their project on Micro:bit processors.

Community Activities/Demonstrations

Lockheed Martin, part of the Delran STEM Ecosystem Alliance (managed by the NJ STEM Pathways Network) continued to offer community programming for our students. They offered many hands-on STEM activities, such as hoop gliders and penny boats. Students built and tested a simple “hoop glider” using straw, tape, and paper strips. Through iteratively modifying its design to see how shape influences flight distance, they were able to make a straw fly like an airplane!  In the penny boat activity, students built a boat out of aluminum foil, with the goal of holding as many pennies as possible. Once they finalized their boat design, the students tested their boat’s maximum penny capacity in the water. They added groups of pennies at a time, precisely distributing the penny weight, until their boat finally sank. Many factors contributed to how many pennies each boat could sustain, including shape, weight distribution, how precisely creases were made, and more.  Additional, our Delran STEM Ecosystem partner, Lockheed Martin,  has provided Delran students with many opportunities, including:  Women in Engineering Day, a Leadership Forum for students interested in engineering careers, and activities in our FabLab. Their support is immeasurable.

Planetarium Experience is Out of This World:

Participants experienced an immersive astronomy experience where a mobile inflatable Star Lab was available to explore. A new LED bulb in the StarLab projected the constellations this year. While waiting for their turn in the Star Lab, STEMbassadors led participants in activities such as themed coloring activities and creating their own constellations.

STEMbassador-led Programming

In classrooms, volunteer STEMbassadors hosted their own STEM programs related to this year’s theme of STEM music and art, along with paper chromatography flower making, tessellation drawing and circuitry board creation. Students were given a Theremin Microkit for their efforts, donated by Lockheed Martin.  This was also explored at a Family STEM Night earlier this year.

Thank you to all of our partners, community organizations, teachers, students, and families for participating in the annual STEM fair and making science, technology, engineering, and math a staple and priority in our community!

What’s next for DelranSTEM?

For high school students interested in volunteering this summer, volunteer applications are due by May 24, 2026. For students in grades 2 through 8, STEAM Up! Camp and STEAM Academy registration is due by May 26, 2026. More information can be found on our website.