Following the conference, the Society surveyed the 200 teachers and received responses from 128 participants. One hundred fourteen of those teachers reported that they had a “much better” or “better than expected” experience at the conference, with 98 teachers saying that the information shared was at the right level for them.

When asked how the conference would impact their future support of students in scientific research, the educators had this to say:

“I learned about new labs and ideas to scaffold the skills needed in student research, including literature searching, experimental design and statistics.”

“I’ve gained insights about ways to reach out to my community for support, which is important, since we are so far from major research institutions or industry.”

“I’m going to incorporate more articles from Science News into the curriculum.”

“My head is spinning from all the great resources, connections and conversations I had over the span of the conference. I have several things I want to employ, including, lobbying for the addition of the AP Seminar and research classes, starting a school research journal and new ideas for experimental models and sources of data.”

Teachers can sign up to be notified when the lottery opens next year on the High School Research Teachers Conference .

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This past October, Marie’s Kids hosted its first “STEAM Night,” an interactive experience designed to introduce elementary school students and their parents to science, technology, engineering, arts and math through hands-on activities at North Charleston Elementary School. Led by a diverse group of volunteers, the goal was to get students interested in STEAM by interacting with role models with whom they could relate. About 80 kids and their parents were in attendance.

Staff members designed five stations, each representing a letter of the acronym:

• Science station (S)—students learned about basic endothermic chemical reactions, bonds and the states of matter through a slime making activity.
• Technology station (T)—students conducted a coding activity that focused on logic and demonstrated how programming languages are used to control technologies.
• Engineering station (E)—students explored key airplane design features and their influence on flight. They then chose one of three plane designs to build and test.
• Art station (A)—students created a collage with different color circles of varying radii that followed the Fibonacci sequence.
• Math station (M)—students delved into patterns through different forms of dance and came up with their own patterns and corresponding step sequences.

Marie’s Kids also plans to hold “STEAM Saturdays” twice a month. “This will help build strong fundamentals in math and science, while also developing students’ design-thinking skills and �鶹���� identity,” said Executive Director, Myrtede Alfred.

“For these three-hour events, students will explore STEAM-related topics; our themes this year include flight, genetics, measurement and weather. Each theme includes a series of lessons with a short lecture, a hands-on activity and a brief recap. There will also be assigned reading, assessments and a field trip to observe STEAM in the real-world.”

“We believe that if we can get underrepresented students interested in �鶹���� early, especially through the integration of art, we will help them to recognize science and engineering principles in their daily lives and encourage them to see themselves as engineers and scientists,” said Myrtede. “By presenting knowledgeable and diverse STEAM role models, we directly challenge the notion that science and engineering is restricted to certain kinds of people. We aim to broaden participation in �鶹���� by starting the pipeline at the earliest possible stages of formal education.”

Marie’s Kids was founded in 2018 and is named after Myrtede’s mother, Marie Alfred, who passed away in 2015. “She believed that children benefit from early education. She taught all eight of her children to read and write before they started formal schooling. While she did not teach �鶹���� professionally, the quality and consistency of educational support she provided to her children is what our organization hopes to also offer to the students we serve,” Myrtede explained. “The organization and its work are extremely important to me and to the dedicated team of nine volunteer staff members.”

“Students in underserved areas need role models in �鶹���� who look like them and share their experiences. The most important factor for reaching children in underserved areas, particularly for elementary age students, is parental engagement. By including parents in the educational process and exposing them, also, to the joys and possibilities associated with STEAM, they can develop the confidence they need to be champions of their children,” said Myrtede.

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In June 2019, Youth Code Jam received a $5,000 �鶹���� Action Grant from the Society to support their program, Community Code Jams, for K-12 students throughout Texas. The program’s goal is to reduce the digital divide for families whose first language is not English. Funds were used to translate, format and distribute materials in Spanish, servicing 1,000+ bilingual families. We caught up with Debi after Youth Code Jam’s San Antonio Community Code Jam on September 28^th, where over 680 people participated.

How do these “jams” work? What types of activities are involved?

Our free “jams” are high energy, large-scale shindigs designed around family and community engagement. At these jams, we have up to a dozen creative computing stations covering a variety of block- and text-based coding languages with challenges at three levels: beginning, intermediate and advanced. Our challenge materials are used by students and their significant adults to work through activities with the support and encouragement of industry volunteers. They are designed around computational thinking, coding, cyber security and digital citizenship.

At our most recent jam, we had over a dozen stations from one as simple as a dance party using block-based programming to coding miniature self-driving cars in Python. An entire section at this year’s San Antonio community event was focused on cybersecurity, including a Capture the flag game, an exploration of facial recognition software, network forensics and an unplugged decryption activity.

Can you tell us about the different audiences Youth Code Jam’s programming is geared towards? How is content tailored to each?

Students have all kinds of significant adults – parents, grandparents, caregivers and mentors. Our goal is to get them actively engaged in meaningful and relevant participation at the jams. Jams are not just a showcase or a “stand-by and watch” experience. We replicate a concept used by actual computer programmers called “pair programming”—an agile software development technique in which the driver writes code while the navigator is actively involved in the overall direction. There’s a running commentary as adult and child solve coding challenges together.

But we don’t stop there. After each event, we disperse materials highlighting resources available for youth interested in �鶹���� fields, such as the , school clubs and competitions, browser-based learning, physical computing devices, coding bootcamps and college degrees. We do this because families are critical in helping youth pursue and persist in computer science education, especially those who are underrepresented in technology.

One student has come to every jam we’ve held. He started with us when he was just 7 years old and came as a participant for about four years. Then, he became a volunteer, leading a coding station and even serving as our videographer. He’s now taking a computer science class in school.

How often and where are jams held? Are there plans to expand to other places?

We host two jams per year in our Innovation Hubs located in Austin, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. Our “Jam in the Box” program has been deployed in 82 schools in 31 Texas cities so far. We plan to expand this initiative to as many schools as possible. Schools and districts that are interested can reach out to debi@youthcodejam.org for more information.

Community Code Jams have challenge sheets at each coding station, which explain computer programming concepts and guide participants through the corresponding activities.

Why are the bilingual coding station challenge sheets important?

While most of our students are comfortable engaging with English materials, the same is not true for all significant adults. Some family members speak only Spanish or feel more comfortable reading Spanish over English when acquiring new material. Having bilingual materials, then, improves family engagement by reducing the language barrier.

Parents have a profound impact on children’s learning and development, as well as educational and career outcomes, especially in areas where they feel some sense of competence in the subject matter. We leave them out of the equation if we don’t have materials that are accessible to them in a language that makes it comfortable for them to learn. The �鶹���� Action Grant from the Society has been critical in providing funding for us to translate our materials into Spanish in order to provide meaningful experiences for them.

How many coding stations has Youth Code Jam been able to translate to date?

We have translated 17 coding challenges to date.             

In your opinion, what other things can we do to draw students of diverse backgrounds to �鶹���� fields?

First, we need to seek out and understand the barriers individuals face, whether it’s a language barrier, transportation problem, a cultural perception or technology access issue.

Second, we need to find solutions by giving diversity a voice at the table. We should be inviting diverse families and individuals to advise us on program design, looking for their leadership and guidance on barriers and solutions.

Third, we can’t look at inclusion as if it were a marketing issue. I believe drawing people includes the direct ask, but keeping them in is far more about building appropriate environments and relationships in culturally-responsive ways.

Hear from past participants of Youth Code Jam’s programs:

• “I feel like I am advancing through life.”—comment from student
• “This is our 8^th year and it gets better every year.” —comment from parent
• “It was overwhelming at first, but the volunteers were informative and knowledgeable.” —comment from parent
• “It was a great opportunity to find out what my kids are interested in.” —comment from parent

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Students had the opportunity to learn about glass blowing at the McFadden Art Glass Studio in Baltimore.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAFE ALTERNATIVE FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION/JAVON ROYE

This summer, SAFE held its 4th annual youth summer camp. With the assistance of the Society �鶹���� Action Grant, Van’s team expanded participants from 18 to 30 students. Lasting six weeks, the camp is designed to provide free educational enrichment activities. The camp operates on nearly the same schedule as regular school hours, meaning that students are engaged with hands-on �鶹���� projects during the summer season when they might otherwise be participating in harmful activities. The served population is comprised of primarily middle school students from the West Baltimore community of Franklin Square. These students live in an area struggling with high crime, poverty, drug use and gang activity. SAFE provides supervision and structure to this population through their distinctive summer camps and year-round programming.

SAFE’s summer program included a trip to the Baltimore Museum of Industry where students recreated their own assembly line.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAFE ALTERNATIVE FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION/JAVON ROYE

“One of the biggest experiences they take away from camp is being exposed to �鶹���� careers, as well as the different environments and people they meet,” said Van. For example, they recently took a trip to the Autobahn Indoor Speedway in Jessup, MD, an indoor go-kart racing venue, where the students not only had a great time, but also learned about physics and mechanics topics such as friction, acceleration, braking and more.

Van, a 2012 graduate of Towson University, had big dreams of playing in the NFL. Those dreams were crushed, but that didn’t stop him from finding a new dream. His organization and dedication to youth have inspired many students to learn to prioritize their education and set personal goals. Van hopes to impart the importance of a having a back-up plan on the participants of his program.

In addition to sharpening their practical knowledge, the students also developed interpersonal skills. “I learned how to talk to people in a way to help them without criticizing them,” expressed one student in the summer camp, who felt that the SAFE summer program made them a more effective communicator. By providing the skills and life experience needed to break into �鶹���� fields, in addition to igniting motivation and direction, the SAFE summer program helps students become well-rounded individuals of the world.

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At their most recent event on July 13, STEAM the Streets participated in “Summer on the Hudson,” a month-long outdoor arts and culture festival hosted by NYC Parks.

“Along with the New York Public Library and a puppet show, we set up our table in the park for a few hours and kids stopped by to build and test their very own catapults. They launched marshmallows and noted how far they flew based on the catapult launch and the number of Popsicle sticks that were used,” said Devin Elise Wilson, Operations and Communications Director of HYPOTHEkids. “There was one little boy who created a game with his catapult. Every time he could successfully shoot the marshmallow up into the air and catch it, he could eat one! He spent almost an hour at the table with us, and when his dad said it was time to go to the grocery store, he replied, ‘Dad, I’ll be here, you can go to the store and come back for me afterward.’ That didn’t end up happening, of course, but he was completely enthralled.”

In partnership with Uni Project, HYPOTHEkids’ Explore cart pops up at many street festivals and park fairs.

Photo courtesy of Timothy Lee Photographers.

With its �鶹���� projects, activities and demonstrations throughout the city, STEAM the Streets aims to highlight the variety of contexts in which science is relevant. “The stereotypical scientist works in a lab and wears a lab coat and goggles. We want to show students that scientific skills such as—questioning, observing and testing—can be done anywhere,” said Devin. “Learners often experience science within the classroom, when in fact science is happening all around us—from the roots of trees pushing up sidewalks, to nests that sparrows build in lamp posts, to the steam that rises up from manhole covers.  We’ve had visitors explore samples of mud and water from the Hudson and East rivers and observed the states of matter by putting dry ice into a balloon.”

Since STEAM the Streets launched two years ago, the program has reached over 10,000 people at 150 events. Central Manhattan events attract a broader audience hailing from other boroughs of the city, as well as Westchester County and New Jersey. Tourists from other countries and across the United States have also participated. 

During the World Science Festival, STEAM the Streets taught attendees about bioluminescence.

Photo courtesy of Timothy Lee Photographers.

Executive Director Christine Kovich started HYPOTHEkids as a way to connect the local community to the cutting-edge science happening at , a biotech incubator she co-founded for early stage life science companies. “Harlem Biospace is part of to diversify its economy and leverage the research being done at its nine teaching and medical institutions. anticipates a vibrant biotech economy in the city generating good paying jobs and career paths.”

Christine anticipates that the link between HYPOTHEkids and Harlem Biospace will function as a talent pipeline for biotech entrepreneurship that is representative of the Big Apple’s diversity. “The practical application of students’ �鶹���� skills pushes students to be innovators. Engineering design, which we emphasize in all our programs, fosters and enhances skills for identifying and developing solutions to problems. It also encourages students to think critically about important societal challenges,” she said. “Entrepreneurship is steeped in every facet of �鶹����. Given how curious, creative and tenacious our students are, perhaps we will see them in the future, using their talents to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.”

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