Research Symposium

BIO

Bella Balmer is a second year honors student at Florida State studying Human Development and Family Science on a pre-occupational therapy track. She hopes to work with children in a hospital setting and eventually own her own practice! She loves traveling, running, music, art, and working out. Bella is working under Senior Research Associate Dr. Ilya Litvak at the Magnet Lab and in coordination with the Tallahassee Scientific Society. As a Tallahassee native, Bella enjoyed getting to give back to and engage with her local community through this project!

Connecting Low-Income Communities to STEM through STEM Nights and the Neighborhood Camp Fair

Abstract

The involvement of elementary and middle school students in STEAM programs increases students’ GPAs, likelihood of attending college, and interest in STEAM topics. While this correlation is well-known, underrepresented students are often provided far less STEM experiences and opportunities. In light of this, the Neighborhood Camp Fair aims to connect Title 1 school students with local STEAM summer camp and after school opportunities around Tallahassee.
Throughout this past year, we aimed to connect more kids to these programs through hosting STEAM nights. These took place at a total of nine schools in which we were able to assist in bringing students to the Neighborhood Camp Fair. Some ways we did this were by creating and passing out colorful flyers around town, engaging with vendors, and coordinating information on email.
We also look at the effectiveness of these efforts in actually getting kids involved for free in camps around town. Research we are doing for this event can help its effectiveness and attendance increase, which can in turn be duplicated in similar events, and ultimately impact children's lives for the better.

Keywords: science, children, steam, students, schools