Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
12 Many kids dont know what the opportunities are. They dont know what the career paths are. They dont know that studying science does not mean that you are going to wear a white lab jacket and spend your time in a laboratory. Having personal stories makes it exciting. The Next Generation Science Standards prompt kids to ask their own questions. Realize that the process of science is the process of asking questions. The first seven questions you ask you wont get an answer. You will find out that they are not even the right questions to ask. That is a lot like exploring a game space when you realize that the path you took and are convinced will be the one to take you there in fact has you being consumed by a fire-breathing dragon. Be exciting conveying excitement is really important. Once and done is not sufficient. The real need is science education programs with continuity like libraries maker spaces and mentoring relationships with teachers. The main idea is programs with continuity and time rather than one cool lecture. I think the out-of-school programs are really the place to work. There are lots of these that focus on STEM activities. There are informal programs in museums zoos science centers and homework study programs. Right now there is a lot of emphasis on STEM programs. Many of the programs have foundation funding or corporate funding to support them so there is kind of a framework in a lot of communities especially in economically disadvantaged communities. The President is behind this in his agenda STEM education and careers are a way of lifting prospects for disadvantaged groups. What To Do What NOT To Do David Evans Excitement is Contagious Unfortunately we have fewer happy experiences when scientists and engineers feel that the best they can do is visit a classroom. Most of us are not all that skilled at conveying our science to people who are not in the club especially to children Often these are bad experiences. We are poorly trained in how to communicate. Working with other community organizations cafes and connecting in informal settings is probably a better way to go. what to do AND not to do One of the problems we have in engineering is that we tend not to be the most outgoing the most gregarious personalities. As a result we fail to speak to the joy of engineering and we need to do more to speak with enthusiasm about engineering. So go into local communities and after-school programs boys and girls clubs the YMCA and local elementary and high schools and ask for an opportunity to speak. I was invited to participate in the Youth Baseball Academy that the Washington Nationals host. They have an after- school program and a career day. The academy invited about 30 professionals to the event. We spoke to about 100 students and I ran into two third graders who said that they wanted to be engineers. I gave one of them my card and asked him to have his parents contact me. The next day I got a call from his dad asking about resources and programs for his young son who wants to be an engineer. Karl Reid Matchmaking Image courtesy Blonde Photography FOR VIDEO GO TO www.carnegiescience.Edu