To say the space in the mood was electric would be an understatement.
As the room full of young high school women prepared for their presentation, the excitement was difficult to ignore.
Prepared to explain their summer program which combined science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics (STEAM), the group of African-American young women were a little nervous, but mostly anxious to take turns explaining about their classes, field trips, and, most of all, science experiments.
Although the group visited businesses around the city as diverse as the zoo, a public utilieties company, a large railroad company, and both small and large farms, they were most excited about the circuit board assembly demonstrations they had planned.
In fact, while much of their Toch would involve photos and short video clips of their experiences, the entire group agreed that they had to have some hands on science experiments to demonstrate. The prototype assembly they had prepared could perform a variety of functions, from turning on and off a light to rotating a wheel to powering a small electric motor.
It was no small task to decide which of the circuit board experiments and problems they would show, because nearly every activity that they completed moved it self to the top of the list of their favorites. During the young women’s visit to the engineering company where the group learned about circuit board assembly services, the demonstrations included everything from explaining the pcb inspection process to showing the step by step pcb prototype assembly process. By the end of the engineering field trip, the girls were able to explain the printed circuit board assembly stages themselves.
In fact, one of the girls is already planning a summer internship in the circuit board assembly services plant. She enjoys many of the STEAM studies that she has participated in, but the circuit board assembly services opportunity interests her the most. With a plan to major in engineering once she enters college, she has decided to get as many different experiences as she can during the rest of her high school years.
What Are You Doing to Ignite an Early Interest in Your Child’s Fascination with Science and Technology?
Whether you are most familiar with the acronym STEM or the updated STEAM, much of the focus in today’s media is about getting young women interested in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics. Just as many are quick to point out, however, that no one should be eliminating the fields or arts and agriculture, however, so too are many stressing the importance of both males and females fostering an interest in these fast growing fields.
Whether you are a young girl who is dreaming of a future in space inspired by the latest movie Hidden Figures, or you are a young man chasing the latest advancements in hybrid vehicles, it is difficult to deny the future that the sciences will play in this world.
As the nation prepares to inaugurate a new president, the debates over who has cost this country the most jobs are sure to continue. For while the incoming president may claim to have a way to bring jobs back to America, we all know that more than anything the automation of the country’s factories are responsible for many of the jobs that have been lost in the last decades. It is the future careers of scientists, technology experts, engineers, and mathematicians who will likely be the best prepared for the future. Even though the political climate in the country may have never been more contentious than it is right now, it is the hope for our future generations that almost all can agree on.
What starts today as an experiment with products explained on a circuit board assembly services demonstration may be the seed that grows into a full blown scientific or mathematic career. None of these options may be possible, however, if your child, whether male or female, does not get introduced to these opportunities at a young age. Is your child interested in the sciences? If not, what are you doing to change that? With just a few months before summer begins again, perhaps now is the time to check out summer STEAM options.