The Georgia Institute of Technology Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing's (CEISMC) Student Programs host K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops for students in grades 2nd - 12th.

"The purpose of the workshops is to engage K-12 students in hands-on and exciting STEM enrichment activities," said CEISMC senior program director Sirocus Barnes. "These programs are designed for students to discover and learn more about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math."

On Saturday, February 20th, CEISMC Student Programs will celebrate Black History Month through the "To the History Makers and Those They Inspire" workshops.

The workshops aim to honor the contributions of Black inventors, scientists, and engineers. By highlighting African-Americans' contributions, students can see themselves represented in the STEAM field.

KIDS Club offers 90-minute sessions for 4th and 5th-grade students. "Celebrating the Art in STEAM – Multi-function Furniture Challenge" session will engage students in activities that explore the work of Sarah E. Goode. Goode was the first African American woman to receive a US patent for her folding cabinet bed invention. The second session, "Fun with Chemistry," will utilize hands-on science experiments to develop science inquiry skills and investigate past and present prominent African American Chemists.

For middle and high school students, STEAM Workshops online offers three workshops to encourage students to explore careers in the STEAM fields. During the 3-hour long sessions, students participate in various activities that promote creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork. The "Make a Moon, and Mars Rover Game Using Scratch" workshop uses Scratch visual programming language to encourage students to collect data and carry out scientific studies. Students will learn about prominent NASA Astronaut Victor Glover and Dr. Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, the chief engineer at the NASA jet Propulsion Library through coding and programming.

"By developing tangible skills in STEAM, KIDS. Club and STEAM Workshops prepare our participants for the future by helping them expand their 21st-century skills and learn about the future in the STEM workforce," said CEISMC educational outreach manager Roxanne Francis.

The second STEAM workshop, "Fun with Botany Using Micro:Bit – Self-watering Plant Project," anticipates the arrival of Spring by allowing students to code their own self-watering plant. This workshop follows African American Scientists Marie Clark Taylor and George Washington Carver to teach participating students about Micro:Bit and Botany.

The final STEAM Workshop, "Ignite Your Creativity with Adobe Spark," will encourage students to create their own Adobe Spark video perspectives on historically African American figures in STEM. The students will imagine a conversation with African Americans in Computer Science such as Kimberly Bryant, founder of Girls Code, computer scientist, and inventor John Henry Thompson.

"I hope students have an opportunity to explore various areas of STEM with the hope that these sessions will spark an interest in them pursuing STEM post-secondary education and careers," said Barnes.

This month, the "To the History Makers and Those They Inspire" KIDS Club and STEAM Workshops are virtual. To register your student for a workshop, visit Georgia Tech CEISMC Student Programs. 

By Shannon Malone – CEISMC Communications