First STEM Day at Forum 73
More than 60 high school students and their educators climbed inside a helicopter for the first time at Forum 73. The AHS Southwest Chapter and Bell Helicopter employees organized a STEM Day at Forum 73 to inspire tech-focused high school students from the local Fort Worth area to pursue future studies and careers in vertical flight technology.
Dr. Al Brand, Bell Helicopter’s Senior Technical Fellow for Flight Technology, launched the event with an hour long introduction to how helicopters work. After Dr. Brand’s presentation, students toured the industry booths and explored the aircraft, components and other technologies on display. Exhibitor representatives shared their academic trajectories that led them to their current careers, and highlighted the opportunities available to academic majors in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Students toured the exhibit hall in small groups, visiting 10 companies for pre-planned talks. This is the first time that tours have been given to pre-college students at the Annual Forum, but the feedback was so positive from exhibitors, students and educators that plans are already underway for next year at Forum 74 in Phoenix, Arizona.
An exit survey showed that 47% of the students knew nothing about vertical flight careers prior to the event, but 93% had an interest after the event. 50 of the 57 respondents said they wanted to learn more about vertical lift technology. One of the high school seniors, who will attend Texas Tech University in the fall, has decided to major in aerospace or mechanical engineering and plans to look for internship opportunities with Bell Helicopter next summer.
