The pages of a book are paved with discovery. The Strategic Weapons Facility, Atlantic (SWFLANT) STEM team is taking that idea one step further by linking literacy and technical exploration during their year-long science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) series at the Camden County Public Library.
The STEM team hosted their most recent Storybook STEM—an event where they pair a children's book with an interactive, STEM-themed activity, on July 15. Armed with Sphero robot kits and a mission to teach children that failure only truly happens if you quit, nine SWFLANT STEM mentors set up building stations in the library.
The event began with the children’s librarian, Emilee Long, reading the book, “Rosie Revere, Engineer”. The nearly 50 children in attendance actively participated, answering questions and engaging with the story's themes of having the courage to make mistakes, analyze observed problems, and the persistence needed to find a solution.
“In our fast-paced world, we often lose sight of how critical reading and comprehension truly are, and it was with this vital realization in mind that Storybook STEM was born,” said Evelyn Ashe, SWFLANT’s Library STEM coordinator. “By utilizing a children's book, we do more than just facilitate key literacy skills, we expand minds to see that STEM concepts are not confined to a sterile laboratory.”
Ashe says the benefits of this approach lead to creating an inclusive space welcoming every student to enjoy the learning process.
“Whether a child is captivated by hands-on experiments, loves the magic of reading, or thrives on pure curiosity, this program allows them to experience it all,” explained Ashe. “It proves that every great adventure, and every future innovation begins with a book.”
After the book reading, STEM mentor, Julio Delgado, connected the book's narrative to real-world STEM concepts, and explained how engineers learn through trial and error.
“As an engineer, I am passionate about STEM and enjoy seeing the students share that same excitement,” said Delgado, a SWFLANT program analyst and process improvement coordinator. “Our mission goes out to 2084 and I will have to retire at some point, so it’s a long-term investment in the future workforce.”
Children then split up between the several stations where they navigated a kit of supplies— like a platform, motor, and battery—needed to build their robot. With the foundational knowledge of building Legos, the children worked in teams to assemble their machines. Once complete, they learned firsthand how to make adjustments to control the speed of their robot’s spin.
“Seeing the excitement on the students' faces as those table-top robots began to spin was incredibly rewarding,” said Delgado. “The energy in the room proved that hands-on learning truly resonates with this age group.” Farrah Martingale shared that she and her children had attended the previous Storybook STEM event and made it a priority not to miss this one.
“My kids and I love these events,” said Martingale, a resident of St. Marys, Georgia. “I like how they make the instructions age appropriate. My daughter’s been exploring sciences and the different types of jobs. I had no idea you could be a civilian in an engineering job working for the Navy.”
Every invention starts with an idea. With an early introduction to STEM basic principles, the SWFLANT STEM team aims to help inspire critical thinking in local youth. From enlisted, officers, and reservists, to civilians and contractors, the team explained that engineers throughout the U.S. Navy design, develop, test, and maintain innovative systems.
"When we encourage this passion in our youth, we are actively inspiring the next generation of leaders, engineers, doctors, teachers, authors, and Sailors who will steer our nation forward,” said Ashe. “Even if every child does not choose a path directly back to our command, the logical thinking, resilience, and problem-solving skills they build through STEM will empower them to benefit our society and support our national mission in some meaningful way.”
Twelve-year-old Coraline Martingale said she first became interested in STEM in her school science class and enjoys coming to the library events hosted by SWFLANT.
“[SWFLANT] does cool stuff,” said Coraline, who wants to be a scientist when she grows up. “My group did make a small mistake while building our robot. We followed instructions and fixed it together.”
As the event concluded, mentors asked the gathered children what they learned.
Several small hands went up. When called on, one child replied, “I learned to make mistakes and try over, and over, and over again until you get it right.”
SWFLANT’s STEM team consists of more than 40 volunteers who support local events, robotics teams and 32 schools in three surrounding counties. For the next Storybook STEM event at the Camden County Public Library, the STEM team plans to continue turning story time into a hands-on learning adventure as they explore coastal erosion with a guest speaker from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
SWFLANT is one of two sites responsible for the Navy’s strategic assets. Its mission is to deliver safe, secure and effective sea-based strategic deterrence to Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The command also supports the reconfigured guided missile submarines, which carry Tomahawk cruise missiles.