STEM & STEAM
Education in the STEM subjects is clearly embedded in the curriculum of Athlone Community College and involves a cross disciplinary approach. Every year we are hugely successful in BT Young Scientist and Scifest competitions.
STEM focuses on scientific concepts whereas STEAM investigates the same problems through inquiry and problem based learning methods used in the creative process. Participation in the STEAM subjects enables students to be independent, resourceful learners as they hone their enquiry based learning skills, which are essential for living and working in today’s world. We regularly collaborate with Ericsson and our local Athlone Institute of Technology, now TUS, where our students learn to code and flourish in an environment that supports the growth of STEM
The STEM Subjects : Science | Technology | Engineering | Applied Maths
STEAM = STEM + The Arts : Humanities | Language Arts | Dance | Drama | Music Visual Arts | Design | New Media
EI1ISS (Echo India One India Sierra Sierra) do you copy, Athlone Community College calling, over”
At 2.50pm on the 7th of December, students from Athlone Community College put their school, their county and indeed their country on the astronomical map when they established radio contact with the International Space Station (ISS) as it orbited over Ireland. With thanks to Amateur Radio, the school set up a temporary Radio Station on the school grounds, in order to be able to communicate with the International Space Station in real time. Students were given a narrow time frame of less than 12 minutes to converse with American Astronaut Shannon Walker, on board the ISS. This was an extraordinarily impressive feat, considering the ISS was travelling at approximately 27600km/hr at the time. Every student held their breath as they awaited a reply to their call, ‘EI1ISS (Echo India One India Sierra Sierra) do you copy, Athlone Community College calling, over’. Contact was successful as the Astronaut’s first words echoed throughout the school, “This is Shannon Walker ready for questioning over”.
