Launching K-12 Educators and Students into the Future
Launching a trash can 20 to 30 feet in the air using liquid nitrogen in front of the oldest building on campus sounds like a college prank, but it is just one of many engaging activities offered by the STEM Institute.
The STEM Institute, housed on the second floor of Old Main, is a hidden gem of supplies for K-12 science and math classrooms in Central Arkansas. Stocked with microscopes, learning materials, lesson plans and much more, this institute’s mission is to enrich STEM education with an emphasis on supporting and resourcing K-12 STEM teachers and students.
Its beginning in the early 2000s coincided with other STEM institutes being established around the state, but as funding shifted through the years, they either closed their doors or got absorbed into universities. UCA was one university that kept the STEM Institute.
Mathematics professor and co-director Todd Abel reflected on UCA’s STEM Institute’s beginning, “The decision was made to absorb the institute into the College of Science and Engineering as an outreach arm for STEM to K-12 teachers and students. Our STEM Institute has persisted because UCA thought it important to have this connection to the community.”
Azida Walker, physics professor and co-director, agreed that the STEM Institute’s importance lies in its connection with students, especially those in rural Arkansas. “I grew up in Trinidad, and so I see those children in rural communities as being much like me. I wanted to be able to go out into these communities and reach young students and expose them to technology and science.”
Abel and Walker coordinate the activities by the STEM Institute, such as STEM Day, professional development days for K-12 teachers, STEM nights at area schools, enrichment activities for students, field days, Summer Camps and more. Through partnerships with local school districts and help from professors and students on campus, opportunities for young children to get engaged with science and math are part of a promising future for Central Arkansas’ students, in conjunction with providing much-needed supplies and assistance for teachers.
“We know that Arkansas students may be struggling in science and math, and hand in hand with that, a lot of teachers need resources and help to teach science and math. We want to support our community and be a part of the education community at large.”
Abel continued, “We also want to prepare students to come here. We want students who are well-prepared and interested in STEM disciplines, so giving them experiences with STEM activities and getting their teachers well-prepared helps get them excited about STEM disciplines.”
Walker agreed, “We’re lucky because we get to do all the fun science. We get to have them put their thinking caps on and question ‘Why?’ When the kids come here, we do different demonstrations with them, activities they can learn from with hands-on experiences.”
Part of that excitement comes from the unique activities and equipment held in the institute. Students get to work with lasers, experiment with Van de Graff generators, make slime, code Ozobots, see animals brought over from the biology department or explore a portable planetarium. The experiments and activities largely depend on the concepts being taught in their classrooms. To further this experiential learning, the institute loans materials for classrooms to K-12 teachers who may not have them for their own classrooms.
“There’s a lot of stuff we have here that schools just cannot afford to keep on site themselves, and that gives us the opportunity to support the community and serve with outreach,” Abel said.
Additionally, as part of this outreach, UCA faculty and student volunteer groups also interact with young students. Award-winning student volunteer organizations Girls Who Code and UCA’s Fisheries and Wildlife Society are just a couple that work with the new generation of scientists, giving them the opportunity to learn more about the art of instruction.
“Girls Who Code worked with students coding Ozobots, a lot of biology students helped out with either field trips or STEM Day, and the Fisheries and Wildlife Society did a lot of work with our stream table last year,” Abel related.
If you happen to come to UCA’s campus and witness 20 or more young student-scholars jumping about in a portable, inflatable planetarium, notice the fun and learning taking place. It’s no college prank. It’s UCA’s STEM Institute preparing for the future of mathematics and science in Central Arkansas.
“We want to make sure our teachers and students have the resources they need and to develop more interest in STEM disciplines. We want to help students realize possibilities for their interests that they might not have otherwise,” Abel said.