Accomplishments & Events

2022 UPWARDS SUMMER Program- Poster Competition

2022 SUMMER Program-  STEM Camp Outreach Activity

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 our NIH R25 UPWARDS Undergraduate and High School trainees joined our community partner Gustavia Pearls in a one-day STEM Fest at Dogan Elementary School located in the Harris County School District. The trainees were placed in six groups and challenged to create a 20-minute STEM based educational demonstration or experiment on a topics targeting grades Kindergarten through 9th grade . The purpose of performing these experiments and demonstrations was to educate younger generations, families, and the community by providing a better understanding of science and to spark an interest towards research. 

The six group performed the following experiments/demonstrations:

Group 1: Elephant Toothpaste Demonstration

Trainees Nalia, Aminah, and Ariah created a giant foaming reaction. With just a few ingredients you can make something that looks like a foamy toothpaste being squeezed from a tube- but so bug that it looks almost fit for a elephant. This demonstration was offered to STEM Fest participants in K-2nd grades.

Group 2: Lava Lamp Experiment

Trainees Alina, Loraine, and Riley allowed each STEM participant in K-2nd grades to create their very own Lava Lamp. The water and oil do not mix and the oil does not change color because the food color is water soluble. In addition, changes to density as gas is added to or taken away from water cause it to gloat up and sink down through the oil. 

Group 3: Glow Stick Demonstration

Trainees Michael, Kirsten, Ayushi, and Andrea provided a demonstration with glow sticks. Glow sticks contain two sets of chemical that when combined, create a chemical reaction called Chemiluminescence. In chemiluminescence, electrons in chemical compounds are excited, and their return to a normal level releases energy as light. This demonstration was offered to STEM Fest participants in 3rd-5th grades. 

Group 4: Magic Milk Experiment

Trainees Malena, Queen, David, and Harshini guided STEM Fest participants in the 3rd-5th grades in creating magic milk. Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. When dish soaps enters the milk the fat begins to break up. The soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk. The use of food coloring allows participants to see all of the movement taking place. 

Group 5: Dry Ice- Ice Cream Demonstration

Trainees Kate, Malcolm, and Maria S. teaches the lesson of sublimation. In scientific terms, sublimation is the transition of a substance directly from a solid state to a gas state. They pose the question of why does dry ice freeze things while demonstrating how they can create ice cream through using dry ice. After the demonstration, each participant was able to taste the ice cream product and tasty toppings were available as an added treat. This demonstration was for STEM Fest participants in the 6th-9th grades; however all participants were able to try some delicious ice cream. 

Group 6: Science in a Baggie Experiment

Trainees Jayden, Srilalitha, Maria P. and Ave introduced students to the idea of chemical reactions, to observe, experiment, and make interference and to notice changes and design experiments to explain their observations. This was all done by creating science in a baggie. This hand on experiments was offered to STEM Fest participants in the 6th-9th grades.