STEM day at YPG gives students hands-on experience

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Wednesday the Army Educational Outreach Program at Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG) hosted a STEM day for Yuma schools.

Around 100 students participated in the event, from a variety of Yuma Schools: Gila Vista Middle School, Cibola High, Kofa High, Yuma Catholic, and San Luis High Schools.

Students had the opportunity to visit multiple locations around YPG, and learn about how STEM is utilized at its different sites.

Students saw first-hand how what they’re learning now can be used in large-scale scenarios in the future, and some said the experience was eye-opening.

They got to shoot artillery, learn from soldiers and engineers, and even got to conduct their own parachute experiments.

One engineer I spoke to says that above all, you have to love what you do.

“I hope they take away that you know, you gotta love your job, but there’s a lot of science behind anything you do," said Ashley Lochetto, an artillery test officer and mechanical engineer.

"You can be a welder, you can be a gunner, you’ve still got to know a lot of science and math background and apply it every day…and do their homework!”

STEM day invites students from Yuma high school and middle schools, hoping they can come away with something to think about.