Sailors assigned to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) partnered with Mullenix Ridge Elementary School, in Port Orchard, to teach children about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) April 10.

The event, part of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) STEM Outreach program, was designed to increase student interest in a STEM related field.

“We’re here to interact with the children and hopefully get them interested in STEM,” said Lt. William Fleming, from Broken Arrow, Okla. “We’re teaching them the basics of science and engineering, which is something I’m really passionate about.”

Stennis volunteers taught students how to create a bristlebot, a category of robot made by attaching the bristles from a detached toothbrush head to a pager motor and battery.

“It’s important for the students to understand they can take a set of unusual elements and create something unique,” said fourth-grade teacher Shirley Silvernail, from Port Orchard, Wash.

“I think that we inspired a few future engineers,” said Cryptologic Technician Collection 2nd Class Melvin Woods, from Durham, N.C.

For more news from USS John C. Stennis visit www.stennis.navy.mil or www.Facebook.com/stennis74.

Written by Jordon Crouch, Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class