Written by Anoushe Mushtaq
One of G.STAR’s goals for this summer was to make sure kids learn about science topics outside of a school environment. One way we did this was by hosting a STEAM Day at Bee Cave Public Library with the help of Cirrus Logic. Some of our specific goals for this event was to have hands-on, fun stations for kids to do. Members of G.STAR’s officer team had meetings with the volunteer director at Bee Cave Library in order to discuss how to best accomplish our goal. We decided that the best course of action would be to have a total of 5 stations that touched various STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) topics: a slime-making station (chemistry), a plant station (biology), a foil boat challenge station (physics), a circuit board station that was held by Cirrus Logic (engineering), and a science-based coloring station for the kids who needed to relax before starting a new experiment (art). We had volunteers from the G.STAR team and some volunteers from the library’s teen program, TAB (Teen Advisory Board), to help run these stations. While helping the kids with various experiments, the volunteers would also explain the science behind it. For example, the volunteers running the slime station would explain, in a kid-friendly manner, the chemical reaction that would occur as a result of the mixture of the different components of slime: glue, borax, baking soda, and saline solution. Some of our stations, the foil boat in particular, encouraged family participation. Parents would compete against, or help, their kids build a boat out of foil that could hold the most amount of pennies without sinking. It is safe to say we were delighted with the outcome of this event after pouring much time into its organization. Everyone who attended the event, whether it was the volunteers, parents, or kids, left with smiles on their faces.
G.STAR volunteers helping kids at the slime station
Cirrus Logic’s circuit board station
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