INDIAN HEAD, Md. — Pelting rains and gusting winds did not stop students and their families from attending the eighth annual History, Industry, Technology, and Science (HITS) Expo in Waldorf, Maryland on March 9. Once inside, attendees were warmly welcomed by interactive displays of robots and fighter pilot ejection seats at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) booth.
Attendees were given the opportunity to develop a visual understanding of how a pilot can successfully eject during an emergency with an interactive fighter pilot ejection seat. Students and their families also received hands-on experiences with explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robots and learned how robotic technology keeps EOD operators safe while deployed.
“It was exciting to see the energy, enthusiasm and desire to learn by all the students at the event,” said NSWC IHD Deputy Technical Director Steve Anthony, who also stopped by the command’s booth to support the staff and interact with students. “Continuing to generate interest in STEM within our schools and supporting those efforts is absolutely critical to help generate our next generation of technical leaders.”
NSWC IHD is one of the largest employers in Charles County and its booth showcased some of the critical technologies developed by members of the local community.
“The Charles County Public Schools’ HITS Expo continued to grow in its eighth year. There were many presentations, especially by non-school system agencies, all of which were very engaging for audience members both young and old,” said Jack Tuttle, a Charles County Public School social studies content specialist and event organizer. “We are always glad to offer this annual spring event as a chance for the public to experience interesting history, technology, and science programs in our schools and community.”
The event combines the Charles County Public School’s history and science fairs with various STEM demonstrations, including the SeaPerch underwater robotics competition.
NSWC IHD — a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and part of the Navy’s Science and Engineering Establishment — is the leader in ordnance, energetics, and EOD solutions. The Division focuses on energetics research, development, testing, evaluation, in-service support, manufacturing and disposal; and provides warfighters solutions to detect, locate, access, identify, render safe, recover, exploit and dispose of explosive ordnance threats.