Archives Summer 2016

2016 Summer Series:

Black Mountain Chocolate Factory/BBQ Factory/Delurk Art Gallery
UNC-Charlotte/Discovery Place Science Center
Forsyth Tech/Wake Forest
Bowling With Friends!


Up-Close-and-Personal: Students Witness the Design Process On July 13
Enrichment Trip

The Design Process was front and center in both parts of the July 13, 2016 trip into downtown Winston to tour
The Black Mountain Chocolate Factory and the Delurk Gallery.
The art studio was very fun. I loved being able to see all the ways that math and science have worked their
way into the creative side of things. All in all, I loved the trip! said Erin Gniewek.
 STEM students began the day in the cocao room at BMCF. They attempted to remove the chaff from the bean
without crushing it, made faces after they tasted the pure, raw bean, realized how many pounds of sugar went into
the final product, observed the final step in the "bean to bar" process, and finally got a taste test. Their tour guide
and chocolatier, Erin, addressed the science, math, and world issues at hand in the production of chocolate
including what "fair trade" means. Erin shared her pathway to BMCF including a culinary degree and multiple
adventures in the culinary world including food truck operator, private chef, and head chef at several restaurants.
After lunch at Camel City BBQ Factory , students gathered at Delurk Gallery in the Arts District where they
received a highly personalized tour of the current exhibit, T he Art of Proposal, by gallery owner and set design
artist, Jennifer O'Kelly. Apparent in all areas of the gallery was the importance of engineering, math, science in
art. Ms. O'Kelly spoke about her own current work, a to-scale model of the set she will build for S eussical the
Musical at Reynolds Auditorium.. Also popular with students were the Art-o-Mat Machines--retired cigarette
machines that artists have re-purposed to dispense small pieces of artwork.
The Art-O-Mat machines were the first machines I have seen that dispensed original artwork, said Annabel
Burcham.
Several other artists were highlighted including architects, portrait artists, and machine and welding artists.
I loved learning where the chocolate came from and how they made the chocolate from the raw beans,
including the grinding and the cooking of them, said Logan Groff.
To finish off a full day, students spent some time shopping in Mast General Store and in the gift shop at BMCF.
Students Toured UNC Charlotte and Played Around With Science at Discovery
Place on July 14 Enrichment Trip

A really rich college visit at UNC Charlotte and a trip to Discovery Place filled a hot day, July 14, 2016.
Students toured UNC-C, saw the campus including the library, and ate in one of the busy food courts on
campus. The junior, UNCC tour guide took Davie students across campus, and described her studies, her
extracurricular activities, and the ways in which she balanced her schedule.
Nick Koon said, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte was a grand experience! The greatest aspects of
the trip were how the campus life was always filled with something to do, and how the students were filled with
much energy. Being so close to downtown Charlotte---it gave me a sense of having the city life and urbanism at
the same time. The best quality about the campus was that much of the living dorms and buildings were new if not
recently renovated. This experience has given me a new reason to possibly attend this university.
After lunch on campus, students traveled to Discovery Place where they toured the live exhibits and explored
the Rubik's Cube exhibit.
Sierra Foster said, I think my favorite part was the upstairs in the Discovery Place. I liked how they made the
science come to life. Our science teachers always talk about it, but when you walk upstairs you really get to see
what they are talking about in a hands-on type of way. Some of the machines upstairs really made things clearer
to me. I also liked UNCC. I liked the friendly atmosphere and how modern the campus is, but I think I want to
attend a college that is bigger than UNCC.
 I had a great time on the trip on Thursday. My favorite part about the trip was getting to see what college is
really like and getting to hear it first hand from one of the students. I also enjoyed learning about the other fun
things they do and have on campus to make all the students feel at home, said Sam Dequenne.
Savannah Joyce said, I thought the campus was beautiful! As my first college visit, this really opened my eyes
to what college life would be like. I did not really know what to expect from going on this trip but it was an amazing
opportunity. The coolest thing (at Discovery Place) was the Rubik's Cube part. There were so many things to do
up there including the part where you turned the parts of the cube to create different types of music and beats.
Those experiences will stick with me for a long time!

Students Tour Two Campuses and Receive Mini-Lectures From College Professors
on July 21 Enrichment Trip
Four professors and one graduate student within STEM professions were the highlight of the July 21, 2016
Enrichment Trip to Forsyth Tech and Wake Forest University.
STEM students not only had a tour of both campuses, but also they were granted extensive time to hear from
professionals in many different fields including environmental science, nanotechnology, cyber security, digital
animation, and physics.
At Forsyth Tech, students learned about the many options for post-secondary education including the economic
arguments to start at a community college and transfer. They also learned about several of the nationally
recognized and certified programs of study offered at the college.
Savanna Joyce said, "I learned that you can incorporate what you love into several different jobs. My favorite
part was when we went to the animation place because drawing is something I love. I really enjoyed how he
talked to us about how you can use animation in science as well because science is my favorite subject."
After lunch at the Food Court at Hanes Mall, students traveled to Wake Forest where they toured the
campus--an experience led by Davie High English teacher, and Wake alum, Matthew Barker. Students walked the
campus, and toured several academic buildings, the library, a common area in a typical dorm, and even a campus
laundry room!
The highlight, however, was a personal session with physics graduate student, Preston Levy, who explained
her research with cancer cells and lasers. She encouraged Davie students to consider physics as an area of
study and shared several pieces of real-life advice about academics in a college setting.
Katie Allen said, "I thought Wake Forest had a really pretty campus, and getting to hear from a student that was
currently taking classes at the campus was really eye opening in a good way! I thought it was a great experience
to have mini-class sessions with three of the professors at the community college and hear them talk about the
professions they chose and how they made that decision. For most of them it was a long journey."

Bowling! Just a Whole Lot of Fun!!
Upper and underclassmen came out to bowl Aug. 11. It was a great team-building trip!