Volunteers from Sandia helped wrap up summer break with fun, hands-on science, technology, engineering and math activities at the fourth annual STEM in the Sun program. With outdoor temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, this year’s event was moved indoors to a cooler environment for sun-based STEM learning.
Elementary and middle school-age students watched the effects of ultraviolet light using UV beads and made lava lamps, catapults and towering structures using marshmallows and dried pasta. They learned about surface tension and programmed Ozobots, tiny robots designed to introduce young students to coding.
“My favorite was building with the noodles and marshmallows because my mom’s an engineer,” said second-grader Maevyn Haynes who attends Griegos Elementary School. “It’s fun to learn about science.”
The award for the biggest marshmallow and dried pasta structure went to Matthias White, a fourth grader in Farmington.
“I’ve never made something this tall. I made something like this before, but they didn’t have a lot of stuff, so I couldn’t make it this tall,” White said. “I want to be a scientist, so yeah, I like learning about science.”
This summer, STEM in the Sun consisted of seven sessions throughout June and July in partnership with the city of Albuquerque’s summer recreation program. More than 40 volunteers from various Sandia organizations participated.
“At the end of the day, kids don’t realize they’re learning STEM because they’re having so much fun,” said Roberta Rivera, a member of Sandia’s Community Involvement team.
The latest event at Griegos Elementary School on July 26 was the final event for the summer and was led by members of Sandia’s Hispanic Outreach for Leadership & Awareness group.
“I have two little boys, and I’ve always been interested in outreach, and this was a good opportunity,” said volunteer Carlos Perez, who works in materials science at Sandia. “Curiosity is always fun to see, especially when started from an early stage; maybe it will get them on the right track. We certainly need the next generation to get interested in that subject.”
STEM in the Sun was started in summer 2020 by Sandia’s Community Involvement team to engage kids in fun, hands-on STEM activities at various Albuquerque community centers during COVID-19. The program been a continued success, even when it has to be held inside when the sun is just a little too hot.