Heralding an era of advancement for the residents of the county, several tech-based clubs at Diamond Bar High School and local organizations worked together to host the STEAM Fair in the campus gym and amphitheater on Sep. 28. The event lasted from 8 AM to 2 PM and featured interactive demonstrations and engaging activities prepared by organizations all over the county for their visitors.
Planned by DBHS Team Sprocket’s co-captain junior Julie Shen and lead junior Sarena Yu for several months, each club and organization brought their full effort towards the fair, presenting all kinds of equipment from three-dimensional printers to competition robots. Inside the gym, many of the DBHS clubs such as Team Sprocket, Printed Works Club, Kode4Kids, Dronescape and Arts for Hearts set base with table stands, posters and attractions to better capture the attention of the wandering visitors.
“We planned out what the Fair was going to look like over many meetings… in [the] summer,” Shen said. “We wanted to showcase organizations in Diamond Bar, so we reached out to different groups that taught STEAM such as STEM Tree and the Makmo Van from the LA County Library.”
While some clubs and organizations prioritized impact through visuals, many more incorporated hands-on activities to both entertain and generate a personal interest for the visitors. Some offered complimentary gifts through a spin on their wheel or even a free book for children to choose for themselves.
In the afternoon, district spokespeople stood on the center stage to present congratulatory awards to teachers, make announcements and offer visitors the chance to sing or perform. Some tents, located around the stage in the amphitheater, featured interactive exhibits for anyone to try, including take-home slime, rainbow scratch bookmarks and photocard decoration for idol fangirls and fanboys to spice up their merch.
Despite being a weekend campus event for DBHS, the event wasn’t limited to just that—the fair was also a collaboration between neighboring campuses. At the gym entrance, several art pieces from South Pointe Middle School students were featured, serving as a brief introduction to their middle school art portfolio for any incoming artists or interested parents.
Team Sprocket’s sister team, the Robotics Alliance of West Covina, was also invited to demonstrate their technological prowess by presenting their own works to visitors at the fair. Both their and Team Sprocket’s accomplishments were on display as their robots competed in a series of basketball-like scrimmage matches.
“My favorite part of STEAM Fair was talking to the families that attended the event because I got to explain all the cool things you can do in STEAM,” Shen reflected. “We had hundreds of attendees that got to learn a little more about what STEAM is and the paths that they can take in the future.