Barrington Education Foundation hosted its first-ever STEAM event on Nov. 14, and welcomed more than 1,600 Barrington students and their families to a day-long expo of fascinating opportunities in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math.

With close to 70 exhibitors, Barrington High School was packed with children and adults exploring everything from glass blowing and police dogs to drones, and more. The crowd was also treated to a helicopter landing on the high school lawn.

Several Barrington teachers set up “Maker Spaces” where children could use technology to design a variety of projects. There was a room where children could experiment with technology and music. In other areas throughout the school, students tested their ability to use high tech medical devices, played a basketball game that honed math skills, examined a pig heart and learned about their own heart and created their own moving sculptures.

The keynote speaker for the event was Chad Jenkins, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. Professor Jenkins’ work addresses robot learning. He also spoke about how he first became interested in human-robot interaction and the impact it can have on the world.

"The event, which was a first-ever BEF board sponsored initiative, would not have been possible without the tremendous support of the community, the exhibitors and the more than 150 volunteers that worked tirelessly to pull off the enormous undertaking. BEF’s mission is to champion extraordinary educational opportunities – and this event did exactly that," stated a release from the local education foundation.