STEM events at Green Brook Middle School
Submitted by Brian Mojta
During the 2023-2024 school year, students at Green Brook Middle School got a chance to enjoy two great science exhibitions. Both events were attended by more than twenty students each. These STEM events were organized by NexGen STEM and the Green Brook Education and Athletic Foundation to provide GBMS students with cutting edge science activities. The GBEAF is a local non-profit that works with the Green Brook schools and the community at large. NexGen STEM is an exciting new non-profit based in Somerset County. NexGen STEM was started by Jashith Gorrepati of Green Brook and co-founded with Rohan Patel. Among many core contributors, Aiden Desai and Lucas Larrosa have contributed a lot of time and effort to providing the innovative science curricula that NexGen STEM delivers. However, there are many other great mentors in the NexGen STEM group that also deserve thanks for the team effort that has helped them become so successful so quickly. The NexGen STEM website nexgenstem.org provides ample information about their programs and mission. In short, this is an organization with an important mission to democratize science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. There is no doubt that they will continue to inspire the community for years to come.
Following the first successful science expo in November, it was decided to hold another STEM event in January. The first NexGen STEM expo focused on the water filtration process. Students learned first hand how to effectively filter water using different media. Ultimately, the hands-on exhibition demonstrated for students the importance of filtering water to remove impurities. NexGen STEM mentors were incredibly well prepared, organized and professional in their presentations. The second science expo at GBMS taught students how to collect DNA samples from inside their cheeks. Then, the students went through a process to isolate their DNA from the spit sample using a few simple scientific steps. Some students found tremendous success carefully collecting large samples. Unfortunately, high resolution electron microscopes were not available to analyze the differences in the different DNA samples that were collected! Everyone is hopeful that NexGen STEM and the GBEAF can partner again to bring more exciting science exhibitions to Green Brook Middle School students in the future.
