Design hosted its first SPARK Conference Day of the school year on Wednesday, Oct. 21

SPARK Conferences – Symposium Promoting Advancement of Real-World Knowledge – are intended to expose students to science, technology, engineer­ing and math careers and to relevant topics and issues in the realm of science and technology, as well as cultivate their unique interests and talents.

Presenters include members of the ASD community such as faculty, stu­dents and parents; in addition, presenters come from local community organiza­tions. Some are individuals from higher educational institutions, while others are innovators within the corporate sphere.

Presentations can be in any format necessary – workshops, labs, lectures, round-table discussions, panel discus­sions and more.

SPARK presenters said they were impressed by the enthusiasm and depth of knowledge of ASD’s student body. Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau was a guest and got to experience some of the sessions firsthand.

Popular sessions presented by mem­bers of the community included "Science at minus 321 Degrees" (Rita McCabe and Arthur Keefe, Sub Zero Ice Cream), "The Science and Art of Baking Bread" (Jeremy St. Hilaire, Great Harvest Bread Co.), "NAO Robot Demonstration" (Michael Radice, ChartaCloud Technolo­gies), "LASER Physics" (Scott Bobbitt, DMD, www.drbobbitt.com), "Racing at the Limit: the Physics of Going Fast" (Greg Czuba and Kevin Bjerke), "Reduce Test Anxiety with EFT" (Becki Stevens, EFT/tapping Coach), "Paper Craft: Candy Corn Treat Boxes" (Jennifer DelSesto), "Turkish Tea" (Emily Jacobs) and "Intro to Sewing" (Nancy Lavin).

This SPARK day offered a variety of fascinating topics to explore, such as "Design and Create a New Board Game," "Introduction to Bridge," "Complex Num­bers in Real Life," "Pixar in a Box," "21st Century Latin," "NOAA, and the NOAA Commissioned Corps," "Pumpkin Chunkin’," "The John Green Experience," "Periodic Table Bingo," "Mock Witch Trial," "Build a Website with HTML & CSS," "Chinese Board Games," "Create Your Own Monster," "Book Chat: ‘Go Set A Watch­man’," "Drafting Battle For Zendikar," "Knot Now!" "Tech Meets Art! – Interactive Sculpture," "Girls Football," "Un­known Pixar," "Animation Celebration," "Graham Cracker Haunted Houses," "Making And Flying Tis­sue Hot Air Balloons," "History of News and Media," "What if?" "From the Earth to the Moon," "ASD Open Mike," "His­tory Mystery," "Stress Management and Relax­ation Techniques," "Fall Into Poetry," "A Look Into the Future," "Price Tags and Brand Names," "The Shape of Skiing – Thrills and Spills, Mountains and History," "A Cheetah – Nature’s Own Flash," and "Codes and Ciphers."

Upperclass students, along with an adult advi­sor, had an opportunity to be SPARK presenters. These student-run sessions included "Game Theory" (Samantha Harper), "WWII: A Critical Point In History" (Nicholas Federico), "Movers And Shakers" (Maya Yaakov), "Oktoberfest, a Bavarian Cultural Experience," (Ian Ayer, Andrew Frisch­knecht and Benjamin Frothingham) and "Study Skills 101" (Aasha Krish­nan).

ASD has a steward­ship requirement of 150 service hours in order for students to graduate. All of our students excel at helping others in the com­munity, but the students who ran a SPARK session took the opportunity to share their knowledge with fellow students while also volunteering to help the school offer a larger variety of sessions.

Stewardship supports the theory that the future leaders, when left on their own, will indeed act as responsible stewards of their environment, and it is also about community service. Through various volunteer experiences, students gain a deeper sense of themselves, their abilities and gifts, the needs of strangers (and in this case, fellow students), and their connectedness to the larger world.

The academy is seeking to partner with local com­panies and businesses for student-centered things such as internships in STEM fields, financial do­nations and/or presenters for SPARK Conferences. The academy has three more SPARK Conferences scheduled this year, and presenters from the com­munity are welcome.

For more information, visit www.asdnh.org or email Amy.Bewley@asdnh. org.