Weekly roundup: The science of hockey, proposed state laws, performing arts grants, and more

Thousands of students from more than 170 local schools descended upon the Honda Center this week for a day of hands-on STEM lessons courtesy of the Anaheim Ducks.

Students at the Honda Center
Photo of the 2018 First Flight Field Trip, courtesy of Anaheim Ducks S.C.O.R.E.

The Orange County Register covered Thursday’s standards-based activities, which were sponsored by the Ducks’ charitable foundation in collaboration with organizations including Cal State Fullerton, Honda and the Discovery Cube.

Kids learned about energy, engineering and other science-related subjects with a hockey angle. Later, Ducks players skated in on the action, testing out hockey pucks that were created by students using a 3D printer.

“Every year we get the ‘aha’ moments with the guys just as much as we get with the kids,” Jason Cooper, the Ducks’ manager of fan development marketing, told the Register.

Here are some other education stories worth sharing:

  • Other bills introduced by state lawmakers aim to increase spending for career technical education, improve collaboration between districts and county mental health systems, and create a new statewide student information database.
  • A Garden Grove girl with autism who was considered nonverbal as a toddler is now thriving as a senior at an online school. Not only does she have a greater understanding of her anxiety disorder, she’s got big plans to expand her coding skills at Santiago Canyon College.
  • And finally, Read Across America events were held across the county Friday, with many schools welcoming VIPs to read to their students. Because the annual celebration of childhood literacy is tied to the birthday of Theodor Geisel — better known as Dr. Seuss — the Orange County Register had a few Dr. Seuss facts to share, from over here and under there.

This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with our local education coverage by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroomsubscribing for emailed updates or following us on FacebookTwitter or Instagram.