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County STEAM Expo draws record participation; students show prosthetic and AI projects
Summary
Santa Cruz County's STEAM Expo (the county science and engineering fair) reported record participation since COVID — about 141 projects and nearly 200 students from 28 schools. Presenters highlighted inclusive programming across science, arts and robotics and students described projects ranging from low‑cost pediatric prosthetics to AI for traffic image recognition.
County education officials presented highlights from the STEAM Expo and recognized student finalists and senior projects.
"The mission is really about creating equitable opportunities and access for all students to engage in STEAM," Dr. Russell said, introducing the event's goals. Heather, who provided participation data, told the board the county had "about a 141 projects and almost 200 students" in the science fair competition and noted growing school participation (28 schools represented).
Student finalists described their work: Musa Shafi, a junior at Pacific Collegiate School, said he developed "a low cost, adjustable below the knee prosthetic for kids" to broaden access to prosthetics; Adi Menon described a project comparing image‑recognition models for autonomous vehicles. Trustees praised the event's rubric and its mix of hands‑on activities, and the board thanked volunteers and staff. The COE reminded the public the next STEAM Expo events and invited continued volunteer support.
The report underscored the county's goal to increase participation among underrepresented student groups and expand STEAM programming across grades.
