College to Host STEM-Based Exercise Showcase

Over 200 students from several South Carolina middle schools will showcase their “exergame” innovations during an event at the College of Charleston TD Arena on Dec. 14, 2016.

The Teaching Engineering Concepts to Harness Future Innovators and Technologists (TECHFIT) project is designed to use a student’s interest in video games and problem solving to inspire him or her to gain the STEM skills needed to invent technology-based fitness games. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Founded by College of Charleston professors Mike and Susan Flynn, TECHFIT is aimed at fighting adolescent obesity by using the STEM concepts of science, technology, engineering and math. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2012, more than one third of children were overweight or obese.

This past summer, the TECHFIT team trained over a dozen South Carolina middle school teachers on how to help their students create “exergames” that require players to get up and move.

During the upcoming TECHFIT event, the student teams will show off their creations. The schools participating in the event are:

St. Andrews Middle School – Charleston

Sedgefield Middle School – Goose Creek

Palmetto Middle School – Williamston

Sevier Middle School – Greenville

Alice Drive Middle School – Sumter

Springfield Middle School – Fort Mill

The program is funded by a $1.2 million grant through the National Science Foundation.

RELATED: Learn how TECHFIT is helping to make children fitter and smarter.