A new STEM focused engagement program has begun on campus. Stem-ology is a monthly program aiming to get people of all ages involved and interested in scientific topics.
“This was the first year of the program. We just started this program in January, this is our first event. The Stemo-logy series is a monthly themed engagement event where each month has a different theme, and this month is oceanology,” one of the directors of the event, Ashleigh Pilkerton, said.
“This was a collaboration between myself, Megan Candelaria, who’s the director of the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium and the science kitchen here on campus, Erin Klauk, and Karagh Brummond who are the co-directors of the Science Initiative Roadshow. We were in a meeting one day and I said that I would love to do this series of events and they said absolutely, we would love to do these events, let’s come together and create these monthly themed events. These events are trying to get our community engaged across all ages… Our Saturday events are family oriented, trying to get families involved in STEM and be excited about hands-on activities that will spark curiosity in the science, technology, engineering, and math field,” Pilkerton said.
Stem-ology also hosts Toddler Tuesdays, where the activities are more aimed toward young children, and Senior Science Fridays, which are for senior citizens and go into more depth for the adult audience.
This months’ oceanology theme included several exciting hands-on activities, such as squid dissection, fresh-water fish printing, and an experiment to represent the effects of ocean acidification. At the start of the event, Dr. Chris North, a marine biologist and professor here at UW, spoke about his experience researching phytoplankton in the ocean.
“I studied how phytoplankton go up through the foodweb to organisms like clams and worms, to all the various organisms that eat them like crabs, and sea stars, and snails… and seals and walruses, too,” North said.
The event was filled with children and adults alike, all getting to look closer into the STEM world in the hopes of inspiring an interest for later. For many young kids, events like this are their first introduction to anything science related, and having it be presented in a simple and fun way is exciting for them.
“Fish!” Leo Johnson, two years old, said when asked if he was having fun. His smile and enthusiasm were infectious, much like many of the other children attending as well.
“It’s fun to be involved in something on campus,” student volunteer Haley Schuman said. She helped manage the freshwater fish printing station, cleaning paint off the silicone fish molds and paintbrushes.
“This was a huge success, I’m super happy,” Pilkerton said after the event.
“I have a feeling we’re going to have some returners,” Lilian Jones, another student volunteer, said.
“Next month we have physiology, which will be on Saturday, March 8… You can access more details on our website and RSVP is required for [Toddler Tuesday]. We also have Senior Science Fridays… so if you have parents or friends that you would like to direct that way, that information is also on our website, and they can RSVP there,” Megan Candelaria said.
