BranchOut! is at the Pohick Regional Library
“They loved the friendly competition and that they could bring home their STEM creations!”
“When’s the next session? My child had so much fun and came home with her tower yesterday!”
“I wish this was everyday!”
BranchOut!'s inaugural STEM summer program at the Pohick Regional Library took place on Saturday, July 16, 2022 and continued until August 13, 2022. We were so happy to receive positive feedback from our Pohick families!
The planning of the Pohick program began earlier this year when we were looking for a place to host BranchOut!'s summer community STEM outreach program.
Savannah, one of BranchOut!'s student leaders, remembered the comfort the Pohick Regional Library gave her, so she contacted the library. After a long line of communication, the library staff agreed for BranchOut! to use one of its conference rooms to run the summer STEM program.
BranchOut! students worked on the curriculum, created promotional materials, and visited potential sponsors to get ready for first day at Pohick, which drew about 10 participants. In addition to providing enrichment activities, BranchOut! also offered subject specific tutoring this summer at Pohick for free.
It was so rewarding to see all the students' smiling faces as they built popsicle bridges and learned about basic engineering principles. We want to thank all the BranchOut! students (see complete team roster below) for their hard work and dedication to make this program a fun and engaging experience for all the participants. We also want to thank our sponsors and supporters for their help as this program would not have been a reality without their support.
The program at Pohick has ended, but we hope to be back next year!
(Click on the clip above to see BranchOut! students in action)
BranchOut! student participants:
Aileen Zhao, McLean High School
Elaine Pan, Mclean High School
Elizabeth Li, Oakton High School
Ethan Chrisholm, Paul VI Catholic High School
Harry Wang, Bullis School
Helen Fu, Thomas Jefferson High School and Technology
Jacob Zhang, Centennial High school
Joyce Song, Mclean High School
Kyle Li, Mclean High School
Lisa Sun, Oakton High School
Rachel Du, Thomas Jefferson High School and Technology
Rihanna Arouna, Walt Whitman High School
Rosalyn Fang, Montgomery Blair High School
Patrick Shi, Thomas Jefferson High School and Technology
Phoebe Wang, Dominion High School
Sana Abobakr, George C Marshall High School
Savannah Zhu, South County High School
Sean Su, Thomas Jefferson High School and Technology
Sophia Guo, Thomas Jefferson High School and Technology
Teresa Huang, Oakton High School
Tingyue Huang, Langley High School