This summer, I expanded STEM You Can! across schools and reached 790 students across 4 low-income schools. In 2014, I created STEM You Can!, an organization that provides free STEM programs to spark kids’ interest in science. With the generous Hassenfeld Foundation Social Impact grant, I researched how to adapt the STEM You Can! curriculum to extend it to schools across the United States. I found supporting schools through DonorsChoose, a non-profit that allows teachers to request funding for classroom supplies. I was struck to see passionate teachers who simply lack the resources to provide science enrichment. While STEM You Can! has previously run summer camps, these camps were only reaching a limited number of students. For the past few months, I designed a curriculum for schools, aligned it with state standards, and developed knowledge-based surveys that tested kids’ knowledge on topics ranging from space exploration to neuroscience. We began each day with a question and answer session, performed fun hands-on experiments such as designing a Mars Rover or creating Lemon Batteries, and finally had a discussion about what the students learned. The program was performed with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. One of teachers enjoyed the lemon battery and engineering experiment so much that we were able to adapt the experiment to be performed with additional 1st and 2nd grade classes. In the future, I hope to continue expanding the curriculum to also target younger kids.
This research showed that the fun hands-on experiments helped the kids learn key state science standards. Traveling to Twin Rivers Elementary school in McKeesport, PA was a crucial aspect to delivering this program. Many of the teachers spend their own money on STEM supplies and are overworked. The teachers were so excited to accept student help as well as reusable materials. One of the teachers said “It was like Christmas” when the supplies had arrived.
This experience was the first time I had analyzed the impact of the STEM You Can! curriculum on increasing the kids’ science knowledge. By speaking to the teachers, I also gained insight into how to adapt the experiments to fit 40-minute class periods and continue engaging students throughout the year. I hope that this experience would help me to expand the STEM You Can! program into more schools nationwide.
This summer, I expanded STEM You Can! across schools and reached 790 students across 4 low-income schools. In 2014, I created STEM You Can!, an organization that provides free STEM programs to spark kids’ interest in science. With the generous Hassenfeld Foundation Social Impact grant, I researched how to adapt the STEM You Can! curriculum to extend it to schools across the United States. I found supporting schools through DonorsChoose, a non-profit that allows teachers to request funding for classroom supplies. I was struck to see passionate teachers who simply lack the resources to provide science enrichment. While STEM You Can! has previously run summer camps, these camps were only reaching a limited number of students. For the past few months, I designed a curriculum for schools, aligned it with state standards, and developed knowledge-based surveys that tested kids’ knowledge on topics ranging from space exploration to neuroscience. We began each day with a question and answer session, performed fun hands-on experiments such as designing a Mars Rover or creating Lemon Batteries, and finally had a discussion about what the students learned. The program was performed with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. One of teachers enjoyed the lemon battery and engineering experiment so much that we were able to adapt the experiment to be performed with additional 1st and 2nd grade classes. In the future, I hope to continue expanding the curriculum to also target younger kids.
This research showed that the fun hands-on experiments helped the kids learn key state science standards. Traveling to Twin Rivers Elementary school in McKeesport, PA was a crucial aspect to delivering this program. Many of the teachers spend their own money on STEM supplies and are overworked. The teachers were so excited to accept student help as well as reusable materials. One of the teachers said “It was like Christmas” when the supplies had arrived.
This experience was the first time I had analyzed the impact of the STEM You Can! curriculum on increasing the kids’ science knowledge. By speaking to the teachers, I also gained insight into how to adapt the experiments to fit 40-minute class periods and continue engaging students throughout the year. I hope that this experience would help me to expand the STEM You Can! program into more schools nationwide.