From left: Erica Cox (Integrated Science Education, AYA), Jen Parsons (OVMoD), Amanda McKeon (Forensic Chemistry), Dr. Mark Lucas (Physics & Astronomy), Addy Kruse (Chemistry), Daniel Ivory (Astrophysics), Ana Bucki (Astrophysics), Ava Heller (Environmental & Plant Biology), Georgia Hilliard (Biochemistry). Additional team members not pictured include Ashley Chong (Forensic Chemistry), Jenna Berger (Forensic Chemistry), Kelly McCallan (Communication: Game Design & Animation) and Dr. Jennifer Hines (Chemistry & Biochemistry).
On a recent chilly fall day, members of the Ohio University STEAM Team engaged area children with science at the Jerseyville Festival in Shade.
The team, supported by a grant from AEP Ohio, is working in collaboration with the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery to bring peer-led science engagement experiences to community events in the region.
For the Jerseyville Festival, the team’s goal was to create activities for sustained engagement and fun at the festival. Team members worked to design hands-on activities that brought together science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts with the arts/humanities (A) to create a STEAM experience.
“Even though it was a cold day, participants were engaged and excited to learn, even dragging others along with them!” says Addy Kruse.
Georgia Hilliard helps a young visitor and his family experiment with density and make a “lava lamp” out of vegetable oil, colored water and a piece of Alka-Selzer.
The Density & Lava Lamp station was a big hit for visitors of all ages while the Plant Dyes station brought an artistic activity with some unusual twists (pink from avocados of all things!).
Meanwhile, visitors to the Art of the Code station used Morse Code to create a secret word bracelet and connected electrical snap circuits to send a coded message to the other side of the tent via buzzes or flashes.
The Patterns & Puzzles station uncovered the math behind fractals found in nature and the spatial logic for solving tangram puzzles and folding origami. The puzzles in particular often had family groups working together to find the solutions.
“Learning is a lifelong process that can be done simultaneously among generations,” observed Ana Bucki.
Visitors to the Art of the Code station used Morse Code to create secret word bracelets.
In addition to demonstrating how creativity and science collaborate, STEAM team members are learning themselves and gaining valuable professional development experiences.
Daniel Ivory noted that for students majoring in STEM subjects, “it is quite beneficial to us to take a step back and see how we can convey them to others in order to build interest across all generations.”
“Being involved in the planning was truly rewarding, and seeing the ideas come to life for demonstrations to families was outstanding,” said Jenna Berger.
This was the first event fully planned by the team and provided an opportunity to iron out some of the kinks with each exhibit for even better events in the future.
“Seeing all these kids and even adults learning and having fun doing it really makes me hopeful for the future of STEAM,” said Amanda McKeon.
The STEAM Team is co-advised by Dr. Jennifer Hines, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry; Dr. Mark Lucas, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy; and Jen Parsons, Executive Director of OVMoD. Special thanks for the Jerseyville Festival event go to Pat Davidson for inviting the STEAM Team to present, the Shade Community Center and festival organizers for providing a welcoming location and AEP Ohio for their support of the STEAM Team.
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