2022 Remake Learning Days Kick Off
+ STEM Connect-KC Updates

9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan 19

• How and why to host an event;
• How to apply for a mini grant to support your work;
• Who you might collaborate with in new ways;
• What worked (and what we learned!) from the inaugural KC festival in 2021. 

See the full details (including our Covid protocols) and register >
 

Join the STEM Connect-KC Network

Support STEM education as a volunteer

Mentors matter in efforts to close STEM gaps

Kansas City Public School middle school students and mentors pose during a recent Girls in STEM event

Closing the gender gap in STEM is a work in progress, but hundreds of local women who work in STEM professions are doing their part to change the equation by mentoring and volunteering at special events just for girls. Since 2016, more than 70 women have stepped up to mentor students in local middle and high schools through a STEM exploration program coordinated by KC STEM Alliance Program Consultant Marian McClellan.


A culminating event in 2019 brought together students and mentors from across the city.

The mentoring events, fine-tuned through a process of continuous improvement, give middle and high school students a chance to get to know women who work in STEM fields by working through exploratory STEM projects together. Pre-pandemic, the program brought together the same groups of students and mentors with a variety of hands-on projects several times over the course of an academic year and wrapped up with a culminating event at the KC Engineering Zone. Over the course of the pandemic, McClellan has used a variety of tools, including video Q&As and pep talks, to reach girls interested in STEM in new ways.

This school year, programs will be tailored based on what works best for each situation. The most recent event was an inaugural Girls in STEM session with middle school students from Central and Northeast Middle Schools in the Kansas City Public School district. Organized by KCPS team members Ericka Mabion and Marquis Hall, the session brought together dozens of middle school girls with Tammy Buckner, co-founder and CEO of WeCodeKC, and mentors from Olsson, Rockhurst University, UMKC-SCE Women in Tech Club, and US Engineering.

The girls enjoyed creating music with code, a hands-on building contest, conversations with mentors and lunch. Plans are already underway for follow-on events.

If you're interested in bringing a Girls in STEM event to your students, contact Marian at mcclellanm@kcstem.org or 630-659-7748.
 

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day // Feb 25

• Student Registration: https://airtable.com/shrwgGCbW3BYLvnts
• Teacher Registration: https://airtable.com/shrYsMNsaPAKHhKav

Competitions & Career Explo Planner

Missouri Junior Science & Humanities Symposium 

Missouri Health Care Career Day // Feb 25

FIRST Robotics Competition speeds ahead

Kick off reveals new game + team-building tools

Kansas City-area FIRST Robotics Competition teams action bolted into action on Jan. 8 with the reveal of this season's RAPID REACT game during a global watch party from FIRST headquarters. Students and mentors from more than 20 teams gathered at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and at the Kansas City Engineering Zone to watch the game reveal, receive their kit of parts and to jumpstart their season with a firsthand look at the Agile Work Profiler from The DeBruce Foundation. Several teams stayed for a quick build session with mentors to get a running start on the season.
 
The Agile Work Profiler, known as the AWP, helps people better understand their unique strengths and interests, known as Agilities, and put them to work in problem solving and in building experiences to meet future goals.

In an FRC setting, team members can use them to learn more about themselves and one another and to use that knowledge to work more effectively as a team. Teams that didn't attend in-person sessions last week may access the Agile Work Profiler as a team-building activity on their own, complete with a facilitation guide provided by The DeBruce Foundation. 
 
Ann Zimmerman, who serves as the ecosystem coordinator for the KC STEM Alliance and with The DeBruce Foundation as an Agilities trainer and consultant, says working through the process also helps students prepare for their next steps after high school.
 
"You can use the language of the Agilities to translate the skills you develop in FIRST Robotics into 'work skill' language you can use for scholarship and college applications or resumes," she says. "We know it can sometimes be difficult to articulate all of the skills you develop in FIRST and other STEM education experiences. The Agilities language can help!"

Find out how to volunteer at a competition >
 

FIRST LEGO League teams to compete at KC Regionals

Join the action with FIRST LEGO League Explore!

Did you know there’s still time to form a FIRST LEGO League Explore team for this season’s CARGO CONNECT challenge? FLL Explore (formerly called FLL Jr.) is for ages 6 to 10 and asks teams to explore a real-world theme using an exclusive LEGO® Education Inspire Model as a starting point. From there, teams design their own models with LEGO® elements. Visit the Kansas City FIRST site for full details about how the program works.

The season timeline:

• Open Now: Team registration and Expo enrollment
• Feb.  12: Coaches Workshop and Q&A (online)
• March 19: Expo at Olathe South High School
• March 26: Expo at Lee’s Summit North High School
• April 2: Expo at Smith-Cotton High School (Sedalia)

Please note: Masks are required at all FIRST events. Questions? Contact Christina Chandler.

LHL STEM Ed // Robotics in the Classroom

4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 2

Next up in the Linda Hall Library’s STEM Educator Initiative is a session about how teachers can most effectively use robotics and/or AI in the STEM classroom.

See details and register >

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