Devils host third annual STEM Day

On Tuesday, March 19, the New Jersey Devils hosted the third annual STEM Day where five local elementary and middle schools came to Prudential Center. The day focused on applying what the students have learned through the Future Goals - Hockey Scholar program presented by EverFi in partnership with the NHL and NHLPA.

Tweet from @NJDevils: .@FutureGoalsSTEM Hockey Scholars from 5 New Jersey Schools participated in the #NJDevils 4th Annual STEM Day @PruCenter today! pic.twitter.com/xayLdAXx3e
The Hockey Scholars program leverages hockey and the New Jersey Devils brand to teach math and science fundamentals through a digital course. The program goes beyond that to also teach students about different career choices they can pursue in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), careers. On Tuesday, the kids who learned about STEM in the classroom came to Prudential Center to apply the academics with hockey activities on and off the ice.
They arrived at Prudential Center in the morning and watched the Devils practice. They were given "GOALS" cards which they were able to use to play Bingo during the practice. They were asked to fill them out with what they had learned and trivia about the team.

After practice, Devils head coach John Hynes talked with the students about the importance of education, character, and hard work in the Devils' locker room.

The students then spent the afternoon applying what they had learned in the classroom on the ice by taking part in five different activities in the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House. They were joined by New Jersey Devils staff, as well as Devils alumni Bryce Salvador, Bruce Driver, and Ken Daneyko. The first station focused on shooting the puck. Students had the opportunity to shoot on goal with two different surfaces. The first was on normal, slick ice, and the other was on chopped ice. Through this activity, they applied force and friction and how those two elements affect their shot.

The second station was passing, which they applied what they learned about angles and what angles are needed to complete a pass. The students took turns passing with a Devils representative, who helped create different angles at which the student had to pass them the puck. This enforced the concepts the students learned about how to anticipate the angle of a pass while playing different positions.

The third station was about the puck and how a frozen puck reduces friction on the ice, where a non-frozen puck reacts differently and doesn't move as easily. At this station, students took part in a face-off, both by dropping the puck and taking the face off, to apply how this is an application of potential energy transferring to kinetic energy.

The fourth station focused on equipment and the evolution of equipment over the years and how it applies to the game. For example, the students learned about the different densities of foam that make up goalie pads. They were able to try on the different pieces of equipment and take part in a fun race and were able to move around in the equipment.

The final station the students visited was the Zamboni station where they learned the science behind the Zamboni and how it prepares the ice for a hockey game. They heard from the New Jersey Devils Head Ice Technician who taught them about how long it takes to prepare the ice and the mechanics behind the Zamboni.

During the last portion of the day, the students went back into the main bowl of Prudential Center. They then listened to a presentation from the Devils Game Presentation team where they learned about the portable technology they use to change the scoreboards and lighting in the arena. This tied in the technology portion of their Hockey Scholars program, and the students were able to see the visuals controlled by the technology in the arena.

"One of the great benefits of the Future Goals Program is that there is a strong partnership between the NHL, NHLPA, and all 31 teams," Ebony Gibbs, Manager of Customer Success in Marketing for Sports and Entertainment at EverFi stated about the event on Tuesday. "I think this partnership really helps escalate the students' learning and the knowledge that they gain around the concepts of science, technology, engineering and math. With that, they're able to have more tangible examples and are able to apply what they're learning in the classroom to the on-ice activities, so it helps to make the content resonate more and the students are able to retain it a lot better."

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