For today’s #BLACKandSTEM chat, we will talk about what makes our STEM personal
Many professional associations have online engagement tools, and sponsor congressional visits days. The Science and Engineering Working Group has a congressional visit day event every year in March where they award to Members of Congress the George E. Brown Leadership Awards. This year the award was bestowed upon Representative Donna Edwards. Last year it was bestowed upon Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson. Both serve on the House Science Committee. Representative Johnson is the ranking member. #BLACKandSTEM individuals and organizations need to get more involved in congressional visits days. Follow and mark your calendar for next year’s event during the 2nd week of March.
When things happen in my personal life that show me the importance of biomedical research, I am always taken back by just how personal our work is. Each as every time that I have stepped in front of a group of kids and parents only to find out that I am the first black woman scientist who many have ever heard of, I realize that what I do is very personal.
When someone tells me that kids lose interest in science around their middle school years, my 6 th grade science fair comes to mind. I designed an experiment to test whether dilution was an effective solution to managing water pollution. In essence, I was asking whether it was enough to allow the Earth’s waterways to do the work of waste management allowing for dumping of liquid waste. Twenty years later, that remains a defining experience for me. Yes, I won an award for best environmental project. Yes, it was my first sign of being profficient in experimental design. More than anything, though, it was my turn to be a problem solver. I was trying to solve a problem that impacted people the world over, and I was casting my input in the conversation. That is the power of the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge: sparking the fire before it fades.
The Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge seeks to reach students in those crucial middle school years. The challenge is more than a contest, it is a chance for students to be scientists: to research scientific methods and concepts, and to use those concepts to solve problems. To enter, students have to get creative in communicating their findings. Their medium for creativity is a 1-2 minute video that communicates a scientific concept applied to solve an everyday Utah online installment loan problem. Students, in 5 th to 8 th grade, have until to submit their videos here.
The Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is different from other science challenges in a HUGE way. Ten finalists from all over the United States will be selected to compete for the top prize. Those ten finalists will each be paired with 3M scientist who will mentor and guide the finalists as they create an innovation to be presented to a panel of judges. ” By the looks of it, any child who enters is a winner.
Remember, submissions are due by April 21 st . Top ten finalists will be selected in and the final competition will be held at the 3M In.
The winner will receive $25,000 in prize money and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist
Discovery Educatio n and 3M have hit the e way that my 6 th grade science project was a major steppingstone in my becoming a scientist, this challenge is sure to spark something in these young minds. It already has been impactful for some; previous winners have gone on to work with some of the top scientists in the country!