Actual image of the planet Saturn
A wise STEM Center Director pointed me to STEM and this is how she did it! In 2012 I returned to my university where I had graduated many years earlier with a BS degree in Engineering Science. The student body had doubled in size from 5,000 to 10,000 students, and of course, there were many new buildings to accommodate the student increase. One new building that caught my attention was the STEM Center, which was having a “Longest Day of the Year Celebration”, and I had to attend!
I took the guided tour through the facility, which was impressive – Learning Labs, Science Displays, and Simulation Theater where I “visited” the planets in our Solar System. Finally, it was dark enough to go outside to tour the sky with high-quality telescopes set up in the courtyard. There was a lot of oohs and aahs as both old and young took their turns viewing our universe! It was the second time in my life that I viewed the rings of the planet Saturn, and it was just like the first time! It is amazing to watch that speck of light become a “large beach ball” with those fantastic rings.
In a few days I had an appointment with the STEM Center Director, and she explained to me that the mission of the STEM Center was to teach underserved students in the region about STEM and possibility plant interest in following a path to a STEM career. I asked her what is STEM and what could I do to help young people. She smiled and asked me if I had read the book, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm”. I had not and she highly recommended that I read it and schedule another appointment with her. That’s how I became hooked on STEM!
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
If you have not read “Rising Above the Gathering Storm”, I highly recommend that you read it. I advise you that it is a government report, so it is not easy to read. The best alternative is getting a summary of the report and read it. It makes you fearful for the United States and since the report was written 16 years ago, we know the future that it describes, and we know we still have the same problems and even worse now. There is a solution for improvement that I will be sharing in future blogs. Please share your thoughts with me by replying below.