Annual Report 2021 - 2022

The STEM Ambassador program is a substantial volunteer program for undergraduate students in STEM and non-STEM disciplines. This program provides Stan State students the opportunity to develop leadership and teamwork skills and the ability to share their knowledge of Science gained in the classrooms with a K-12 audience. Internships are also available if students desire to earn credit for their participation. In addition, STEM Ambassadors lead classroom activities for the Junior Scientist and Solar Suitcase Program and take the lead in preparing and conducting Science Saturday and Science Day activities.

In person: The open-house environment will feature activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Naraghi Hall of Science, the Science 1 Building, the greenhouse, and the sustainable garden. There will also be tours of the Trans-California Pathway, an outdoor arboretum featuring plant communities native to a transect of California from the Central Valley to the High Sierra. With more than 40 activities available, students and their families will receive a “Passport to Science” booklet to track their activities throughout the day.

Virtual: The event is week-long in which PreK-12 classrooms can join to participate in 30 to 60 minutes STEM activities. Some activities are in demonstration format, where the students learn the topic and see an experiment performed by the activity leader. Another format includes learning concepts and then applying those concepts in a hands-on activity that the students can follow along with the presenter as Science in Our Community provides the material in advance. The faculty, staff, and STEM Ambassadors are the ones who led these activities.

STEM Ambassadors and other student volunteers take two or more STEM interactive activities to the school site. They work with the K-12 students and the community members on these activities while answering their questions about the Science concepts.

In person: The Junior Scientist program provides 4th-grade students with STEM curriculum enrichment for the local schools from the Turlock Unified School district. Students accompanied by teachers and parents visit Stanislaus State to participate in three-hour-long science lessons free of cost. These science activities reinforce the in-class curriculum and provide a hands-on approach to localized issues and problems. The program aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This past year, students from Cunningham Elementary, Wakefield Elementary, and Osborn Elementary schools came to the Stan State campus for Saturday activities of STEM enrichment.

Virtual: The program works virtually with Cunningham Elementary, Wakefield Elementary, and Osborn Elementary. In which STEM Ambassador takes the lead on one-hour science lessons free of cost. We also provide the schools with material allowing students hands-on experience. While doing this, we continue to align the in-class curriculum.

In person: The Science Saturday involves three hours of exploring one science discipline with two to three activities focused on that discipline. The faculty, staff, and STEM Ambassadors lead these activities.

Virtual: It involves one to three hours of exploring one science Disciple virtually through zoom. This activity also allows participants to follow the activities along with the presenters.

In person: Undertaken in partnership with the We Share Solar program. The Solar Suitcase program helps middle school students develop their solar systems and enhances the learning of green energy sources. Then deployed, the student-built systems to areas lacking electrical utilities, generally schools and refugee camps. Also, middle school students learn the global aspect of energy access and the social issues accompanying this subject. A group of student volunteers leads this activity by going onto the school site to work with the students on this project. We have previously worked with Dutcher Middle School and Turlock Junior High School.

Virtual: Solar Suitcase programs continue with the partnership of the We Share Solar program. In the virtual format, one STEM Ambassador takes the lead in doing multiple sessions with the middle school students. These lessons go from concept to building the Solar Suitcase and their Solar Suitcase system. Science in Our Community provides the school with materials for each session, so the students can follow along and do hands-on activities. We worked with Dutcher Middle School for our first virtual Solar Suitcase in the past year.

In Person: Lesson Planning Workshops are three-hour-long workshops that focus on STEM education. The workshop gives Stan State students interested in pursuing a career in teaching science subjects the opportunity to familiarize themselves with current state teaching standards and how to engage K-12 students effectively and efficiently at different grade levels. In addition, participating students receive helpful tools such as lesson planning templates and how to navigate the NCSS (Next Generation Science Standards) website, which they can optimize when working with students in the classroom.

Virtual: Lesson Planning workshop continues to focus on STEM education and provides tools such as templates and navigation tools for Next Generation Science Standards. In this format, the workshops are an hour long, where the presenter connects with the participants through Zoom.