Friday, November 6, 2026
Thousands of students traded their classrooms for a day of hands-on discovery at the second annual STEM•X Festival at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Oct. 30. The three-day festival, which drew in more than 6,000 people, gave kids an opportunity to explore robotics, emerging technology and the many ways science can shape the world around them.
The school-only session on Friday brought together middle school students from across Long Island and Queens, including those from Academy Charter School, Roosevelt and Hempstead. Students participated in experiments, watched demonstrations, and explored interactive activities designed to make science, technology, engineering and mathematics more accessible.
Among the attendees Friday was Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School students Maria Pineda, Taliyah Holley and Tobi Aduosun, who explored the hands-on science exhibits and activities organized by Hempstead-based nonprofit Morrison Mentors Inc.
For Aduosun, one of the highlights was mBot soccer, a program where the users program the robots to push, dribble, and score a ball into a mini goal. He enjoyed learning how to operate the controls with help from event staff and competing alongside his friends.
“I like how the employees helped me learn the controls,” he said. “And I even got to play with some of my friends.”
The three students shared an interest in STEM, with the museum's planetarium offering another memorable experience. A presentation about climate change highlighted how young people can develop creative solutions to environmental challenges.
“The movie that showed how we could change the future,” Aduosun said about the film. “What it would look like or like how we could use plants and machines.”
The festival featured a variety of interactive stations. Students made slime, learned how volcanos erupted, mixed chemicals in experiments that caused objects, including spiders, to “skitter” in a bucket, create pixel art and use motorized tufting guns to create a colorful design similar to a rug.
Executive Director Doron Spleen, a Hempstead native and Hempstead High School graduate, said his own experiences showed him how access to technology could open doors.
After studying technology at Rochester Institute of Technology, Spleen saw firsthand how educational resources and exposure to new skills could create opportunities.
“Knowing when I was at RIT, all of the resources and the skills that I lacked and what I needed is what propelled us,” Spleen said. “Technology changed my life, when I graduated, I went into technology. It allowed me to travel. It allowed me to grow."
Spleen said he wanted to bring those same opportunities to young people in the communities where he grew up, particularly in areas where access to STEM programming can be limited.
Aduosun explained that STEM programs are not always available close to home, often requiring him to travel elsewhere to participate. The STEM•X Festival, however, brought those opportunities much closer to his community.
The nonprofit's name reflects the importance of mentorship in Spleen's own life. It was named after Hawthorne Morse, a former teacher who provided free tutoring and mentoring to young people at Kennedy Park.
“STEM•X Festival creates an inspiring environment where students and families could explore the science, technology and energy behind the world around them,” Favio German, National Grid's director of U.S. community engagement and investment, said in a statement Saturday. National Grid was among the festival's sponsors.
“We are pleased to return for this year’s event because the festival supports our commitment to energy affordability, reliability and safety,” German continued.
Through STEM•X and its other educational programs, Morrison Mentors hopes to give students the resources and exposure needed to discover interests that could eventually develop into academic and career opportunities.
