Steelers Kelvin Beachum Teams With Science Center To Get Kids Interested In STEM Subjects
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When someone as big as Pittsburgh Steeler Kelvin Beachum talks, kids listen.
"STEM is science, technology, engineering and mathematics," Beachum told kids at a local YMCA.
And when he tells you that it's cool to pay attention to those kinds of subjects, kids listen.
Beachum was at the Homewood YMCA this week with the people from the Carnegie Science Center FabLab. They had all kinds of cool tools to show kids why STEM matters.
Liz Whitewolf, of the FabLab, says, "3D printers and laser cutters and CNC machines, and we set them up here in their maker space to teach the kids here about some of this cool rapid prototyping technology."
The kids all learned how to program the machines to make personalized name tags that they then printed.
"Making time just to have fun with the kids because STEM is fun," says Beachum. "STEM is something that not only produces jobs, but it also can produce a very prosperous career for these kids in this particular area."
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"We are getting these kids interested in STEM now so they are not left behind in the competitive work force," Whitewolf said.
Beachum grew up in a family of automotive technicians and learned early on how to make things work. He also understands there is life after football.
"It's great to play football. It's great to want to be a pro athlete or pro basketball player, but it's more than just being a pro," he said. "When football is over and done with, you have to go and have a career and be able to make money."