Outreach
Pertenecer/You Belong
Current
Girls in STEM Club at Littleton Middle School
2017-2018
Girl Scouts STEM Badge Event at Kutztown University
2017
Pertenecer/You Belong
Pertenecer/YouBelong is a graduate student led outreach program originally founded by Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Dávila. We focus on programming that exposes 1) earth science , 2) related STEM disciplines, and 3) higher academia to students (kindergarten through undergraduates). Our target audience is students in under served communities, but we love connecting with any and all classrooms or educational programs.
Some of our (now virtual) events include:
Graduate Student Panels
Virtual Laboratory Tours
"Meet a Scientist" Events
Joseph also works on content for Spanish speaking students including his initiative Con-Ciencia en las Américas.
Girls in STEM Club at Deer Creek Middle School
Girls in STEM club was started by Kara Marsac, a PhD Student in Hydrology at Colorado School of Mines. Kara and I would visit Deer Creek Middle School several time a month to conduct experiments with students and teach them physics, chemistry, biology, and environmental engineering topics.
Photos in queue:
students drawing what they envision when you say "engineer"
Kara concocting "elephant toothpaste"
students making their own "toothpaste"
Kutztown Girls Scouts earn their first STEM Badge at Kutztown University
April, 2017:
The Geophysical Society of Kutztown University, planned and delivered an inspiring Women in Science program for Kutztown Girl Scouts.
The middle school and high school students started their day cutting open geodes with a friction saw. Seemingly dull on the outside, these rocks revealed their dazzling, crystal-filled interiors.
The girls learned about geochemistry with Dr. Kurt Friehauf, professional geologist and professor at KU. They made rocks glow with ultraviolet radiation, caused them to release their oxygen and carbon into the air, viewed their stained glass-like beauty under high-powered microscopes, electroplated nails with copper they ground from rocks, and operated a Geiger counter to detect radiation that occurs naturally.
The Scouts ate lunch with Donna Demarco, KU computer science professor and co-founder of Viddler, Inc., provider of an online sales training platform for video-based instruction and coaching.
After lunch, the girls scoured the Boehm Science building on a scavenger hunt, searching for pieces of the geologic time scale and assembling all of Earth’s history.
The girls got a taste of paleontology by watching the “Bearded Lady Project,” a documentary produced by woman palentologists at the University of Wyoming showcasing the challenges they experience working in their field.
Afterwards, the girls did their own digging to find and date animal remains that were generously donated by Martin Shrift (Trapper Marty) of Hamburg.
After learning volcanology and experiencing a classic model volcano erupting several times outside, the girls learned about geophysics from Dr. Sherrod, KU Geophysicist. She demonstrated how to use ground penetrating radar equipment to detect pipes and other subsurface features before letting the girls use the equipment.
The girls finished the day reflecting on how they will inspire other young girls to be leaders and achieve their goals, whether those goals involve science, technology, engineering, or math. Below are their responses to the day.