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The free event, which has been held nearly every year since 2016, allows 5th graders from Virginia Beach City and Chesapeake Public Schools to receive an exclusive sneak peek of the Air Show performances, including the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels and the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team; vendor booths and activities; and numerous STEM Laboratory exhibits. It’s estimated nearly 8,000 students and more than 1,500 teachers/chaperones were in attendance this year.

Students were able to engage in a multitude of environment-based activities to learn how to become better stewards of the environment, such as play a Jeopardy-style trivia game to test their knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay, recycling, and watersheds; and compete in a head-to-head recycling relay to determine if discarded items were recyclable or trash. Additionally, many of the questions asked were derived from the Virginia Standards of Learning curriculum to help reinforce state education, and meet stewardship and literacy goals embodied in the EPA Executive Order 13508 for Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration outreach commitments.

“It was fun to engage with students on topics so close to where we all live – seeing what they know, and share information to help protect the Chesapeake Bay,” said Vincent Orazi, Natural Resource Management Specialist. “It was good experience.”

An interactive watershed model further showed students how pollutants, such as pet waste, oil, fertilizer, and detergents can adversely impact water quality by entering our waterways, pollute stormwater, and impact outside activities like swimming and fishing.

“It’s great to see the students captivated by our hands-on demonstration,” said Dawn Friedrichs, PWD Oceana EV Drinking Water and Environmental Management System Program Manager, noting students used oil absorbent fabric to cleanup oil spills in aquatic and marine environments in the display. “Interaction and visualization go a long way in helping them retain what they’ve learned.”

Students also learned the importance of recycling, proper waste disposal, natural resource conservation, and how to prevent household and industrial pollutants, trash, and yard debris from entering our waterways.

“I’ve been participating in the NAS Oceana Air Show STEM Lab since 2017, and I’m amazed every year by the great questions asked by these students,” said Tara Fisher, PWD Oceana EV Water, Tanks, and Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants (POL) Program Manager. “We really enjoy interacting with them, and we hope our message of stormwater pollution prevention sticks with them throughout their lives.”

NAVFAC MIDLANT provides facilities engineering, public works and environmental products and services across an area of responsibility that spans from South Carolina to Maine, as far west as Illinois, and down to Indiana. As an integral member of the Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic team, NAVFAC MIDLANT provides leadership through the Regional Engineer organization to ensure the region’s facilities and infrastructure are managed efficiently and effectively.

For additional information about NAVFAC MIDLANT on social media, follow our activities on Facebook at www.facebook.com/navfacmidatlantic and on Instagram @navfacmidatlantic.

This "NAVFAC MIDLANT Environmental, Chesapeake Bay Program volunteers support 2024 NAS Oceana STEM Lab for nearly 8,000 Students" was originally found on https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Term/3087/