Original turnout

Our STEM Fair brought along a very touching and inspiring experience for myself, school staff, learners, family and other stakeholders. Our entries equaled about 50 and all turned up for the fair to display their projects and present their findings to the community. The turnout was amazing and many learners that struggle or are not as engaged in STEM not only completed a project, but exemplified in other areas such as leadership, speaking, or design. There are multiple capacities in which students were given authentic and meaningful learning opportunities and could flourish. It was amazing to see them in their element and see just how much excitement was present amongst all attendees. Students stayed after-school with their projects and for judging to occur and to take in other displays. Parents/guardians were able to come and could take their students afterwards. Business members were present to assist those who they paired with and to take in the scenes, too. Many enjoyed the voting process for unique awards and the activities that were intertwined throughout the day. At 4:00 PM, many students left to ride the school-provided transportation home. However, the doors were open for public intake until 6:00 PM.

Students gave presentations to the judges and other individuals. This was an excellent interactions where students shared their knowledge with stakeholders. Relationships were formed and connections that will take students beyond this experience.

Reflection and moving forward

Moving forward, the STEM Fair will undoubtedly occur again next year as it made such as amazing impact on students and stakeholders. Many remarked how wonderful it was to see the youth inspired and engaged in STEM. Students completed reflections after the fair about how their idea of STEM changed over the course of the few weeks. The learners stated that they felt like they had a new perspective on STEM and were more interested in it than previously. There was a stark difference in seeing an increase of engagement from learners and stakeholders. We measured this in comparison to other events that occurred in the past such as sporting events, conferences, after-school activities, and more. I can tell that students gained an invaluable experience because I have never seen them so motivated to work on academics. In the future, we plan to expand the fair to incorporate more STEAM. Ideas have been tossed around such as having interactive booths put on my local STEAM-related businesses. Personally, I love this idea as it allows students to learn about real-world opportunities and significantly increasing engagement amongst all parties involved. Our first STEM Fair was slightly chaotic and disorganized at times and this is something that will inevitably improve in future occasions.

As a 2nd year teacher, I am not an expert on how to engage learners and stakeholders to overcome all the barriers. But, I do think that attempting to make a positive impact is needed for real change to occur. The reward of taking this risk was completely worth it. Students with varying backgrounds and knowledge levels were able to come together and gain more valuable skills and opportunities. These learners have the odds stacked against them, but with the STEM Fair they showed creativity, critical thinking, and so much more. They are capable of so much and I am happy to support them in gaining confidence especially in underrepresented areas such as STEM. If you are looking for a way to increase diversity in STEM and engage all learners by teaching them skills, a STEM Fair may be for you. Thank you for taking your time to read throughout these tabs and hopefully you are taking away something beneficial to apply in your own classrooms. The bridge has been mended and there is much more engagement from my students and stakeholders.

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