Happy International STEM day!
Today we celebrate science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the important role it plays in our society.
We believe it is crucial to expose our youth to STEM as it helps develop critical thinking while also fostering innovation and problem solving skills.
The U.S Department of Education states, “In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, it's more important than ever that our nation's youth are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions” (1). By getting our youth excited about STEM, we can foster those ideas and a passion for exploring real life opportunities, such as hobbies or future careers.
That is why we have partnered with COSI (the Center of Science and Industry), through their Learning Lunchboxes, to expose Club members across Ohio to STEM in a stimulating way.
The Learning Lunchbox is a hands-on educational experience that has all the tools you need to do a STEM activity in a Club. We were able to deploy these boxes across the state four weeks out of summer programming. These boxes included projects on Nature, James Webb Telescope, Dinosaurs and Space. They also provided our Youth Development Professionals with guides and resources to follow making it an easy lesson to teach.
The Lunchoboxes were very well received by our youth and Club Staff. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati, Director of Programs, Emily Yellman said “The members were engaged, and the staff appreciated the ease of the curriculum and the resources that accompanied each box.”
STEM can be a fun, hands on, way for youth to learn problem-solving skills, critical thinking and creativity. The Ohio Department of Education states that skills like these learned through STEM are “vital to Ohio’s future economic growth and prosperity”(2). We are proud to have exposed our youth to such learning.
“We must also make sure that, no matter where children live, they have access to quality learning environments. A child's zip code should not determine their STEM literacy and educational options.” - U.S Department of Education(1)
(2). https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/STEM-Science-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathem