Tormach Launches New Web Resource for STEM Education

WAUNAKEE, Wis., May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tormach LLC, a premier manufacturer of affordable CNC mills and accessories, announces the launch of TeachSTEMNow.com, an online resource that promotes Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in education.

TeachSTEMNow.com places an emphasis on manufacturing technologies and real-world shop skills. Offering lesson plans that can be readily implemented into classroom curriculum, the site also contains STEM-related articles and editorials, teaching tips and ideas, and links to educational grants and funding resources.

"The idea behind TeachSTEMNow.com is to enhance education in an exciting fashion," said Tormach President Greg Jackson. "We're looking at the integration of all technologies and supporting the idea that educators are critical to moving the next generation of tradesmen and skilled workers forward. It's our goal with this project to present these ideas to teachers."

Co-editors on the site are Alain (Al) Chirinian, STEM education expert and Science and Robotics instructor at Brookings-Harbor High School in Brookings, Oregon, and Andy Grevstad, Senior Applications Engineer at Tormach. Grevstad explains, "The types of projects we're putting on to TeachSTEMnow.com will give people the understanding that Tormach is unique in its ability to provide machines for the classroom at a reasonable price, that can do these big-time projects rather than the small desktop projects."

Noting positive growth in students' interest in shop and vocational classes, Chirinian attributes the trend to popular television shows filmed in real-world machine shops and the "maker movement." "I've never had a student say they didn't enjoy working with their hands; it's quite the opposite. Kids who didn't have any idea what a CNC mill looked like before see them on these reality shows and they want to make parts of their own," he said.

Chirinian added, "The shop teacher has the technical know-how to operate machinery. Unfortunately, you don't see a lot of mixing of the shop teachers and the science and math teachers. Collaboration is key, though, to change the whole STEM paradigm. We want to encourage teachers to move beyond the barriers and understand that in the shop class they do a lot of math and in the math class they can utilize the shop and in the science class, and so on."

For more information about TeachSTEMNow.com, visit the website at http://www.teachstemnow.com and follow TeachSTEMNow.com page on Facebook and Twitter.

About Tormach

The people at Tormach are dedicated to delivering tools, accessories, and components of unprecedented value in the world of CNC and motion control. Whether you are involved in R&D, education, short-run production, or simply entrepreneurs with new ideas, Tormach products allow you to make what you need easier, quicker, and more affordably.

Tormach is headquartered in Waunakee, Wisconsin. For more information about "personal CNC" mills and accessories, please visit http://www.tormach.com or contact Tormach directly at [email protected].

Contact:

Andrew Grevstad
[email protected]
(608) 849-8381

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SOURCE Tormach