2017 African American Family Science and Engineering Day (AAFSED)

The STEM LAB: Cultivating Young Minds to Create Their Own Opportunities Through STEM

University Diversity Mini-Grant Final Report The Minority Engineering Program in Partnership with the

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Principle Investigator: Franke Hunte, Ph.D.

Co-Investigator: Angelitha L. Daniel July 2017

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this initiative was to ignite the excitement of African American students in grades K-12 to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. This recruiting initiative aimed to inform, inspire, motivate and encourage young African American students through fun and engaging hands-on activities to begin thinking about STEM fields as possible professional careers they can pursue. Additionally, the event showcased African American STEM professionals from academia and industry which allowed students to learn about their career paths and current research/jobs. It is widely known that the presence of role models and mentors with STEM backgrounds is critical in underrepresented students deciding to pursue STEM degrees/careers. The main objectives of this project are:

• To raise awareness in the African American community about the importance of student success in science and mathematics

• To highlight the pathway to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers/professions

• To inform, motivate, encourage and inspire a passion for STEM through hands-on activities that make engineering come alive

• To support parents/guardians (especially those who homeschool) in providing STEM-related experiences for their children

• To highlight STEM professional role models among the African American community

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The continued lack of underrepresented minorities (URMs) enrolling and graduating with STEM degrees continues to be a nationwide focus. In order to meet the growing demands required to keep the United States globally competitive, it is imperative that we prepare more URMs for STEM careers. The demand for qualified STEM professionals continues to rise but this demand will be jeopardized if URM’s are not exposed to and actually pursue these fields. Engaging students with diverse backgrounds is critical to our continued growth as a nation and to North Carolina State University (NCSU) to help meet the global demand.

The African American Family Science and Engineering Day (AAFESD) is the brainchild of Dr. Frank Hunte, an Assistant Professor in the NCSU Materials Science and Engineering Department. In thinking about his educational journey, he recalled not being introduced to science and engineering until late in his high school career. Additionally, he would not see many African Americans throughout his collegiate journey as a physics major. Dr. Hunte wanted a way to expose

young African American students to STEM, allowing them to see Engineering as a realistic career path in a fun and engaging way. The inaugural event was held on March 5, 2016 with financial support from Eastman Chemical Company. The event format consisted of a keynote address by Brigadier General (Retired) Leodis Jennings (B.S. ’83 MSE), followed by time for students to meet African American faculty, scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians. The event continued with interactive exhibits, demonstrations and activities that highlighted STEM applications. Additionally, the African American Cultural Center, in partnership with the NC State STEM Early College High School Students, shared a Who’s Who interactive display of African American inventors, engineers, mathematicians, and scientists to include Mae Jemison, Shirley Ann Jackson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Edward Bouchet and Sylvester James Gates, just to name a few.

Dr. Hunte would secure additional funding from Eastman Chemical Company, in addition to receiving a University Diversity Mini-Grant from the University Provost’s Office to host the event for a second year. The Minority Engineering Programs (MEP) Office would be asked to take the lead on planning and implementing the 2017 AAFSED. The AAFSED allowed students and their families to interact with African American STEM professionals, undergraduates and graduates. Participants explored hands-on activities and informational booths provided by the SMILE CAMP, the Engineering Place, College of Natural Resources, College of Sciences, College of Textiles and the African American Cultural Center.

PROJECT NARRATIVE

In thinking about the theme for this event, the MEP planning committee aimed to highlight the vision set forth by Dr. Hunte while incorporating the intimate connection between design and engineering as it would be shared by our keynote speaker, Phil Freelon. The theme for the 2017 AAFSED event was: The STEM Lab: Cultivating Young Minds to Design Their Own Opportunities Through STEM.

Figure 1: The STEM Lab Logo/Invite designed by Lauren Towns Carlton, Engineering Communications.

The African American Family Science and Engineering Day: The STEM LAB was a three hour event that was held in the Talley Student Center (specifically the Piedmont & Mountains Ballrooms) on Saturday, May 6, 2017. The event invite was shared electronically with three MEP partners for dissemination to their respective networks. They were:

• Donald McCoy, IBM Retiree, Member of the NCSU Women and Minority Engineering Programs National Advisory Board and STEM Consultant, Raleigh, NC

• Braska Williams, NC MSEN Pre-College Program Coordinator, Raleigh, NC

• John Martin, CEO and Founder, YBM Leadership Alliance, Charlotte, NC

The event began with participant registration. During registration, each student received a STEM Lab t-shirt: to highlight the event sponsors, to take a group picture at the end of the event and to have as a souvenir. Once students/families registered, light refreshments (wraps, chips, cookies, lemonade and tea) were available. Dr. Justin Schwartz, Materials Science and Engineering Department Head, welcomed students and their families to the event and shared how the event came to exist and the purpose. Dr. Javon Adams, Postdoctoral Research Associate (Civil Engineering/Minority Engineering Programs), followed Dr. Schwartz with the introduction of the keynote speaker, NCSU alumnus, Mr. Phil Freelon. Mr. Freelon served as the lead architect for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Some of his other notable projects are: the Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and the Emancipation Park in Houston. Mr. Freelon spoke to students about how architects and engineers work together to design and build. He also shared details about the design and construction process for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Director of the Minority Engineering Program then shared details about the event setup and schedule for the remainder of the day. The floor plan was arranged based on the age group that each activity targeted. With the exception of four of the activities that were designed specifically for middle and high school students, all of the remaining activities were appropriate for all age groups.

In addition to the hands-on activities, the African American Cultural Center Library Exhibit was available along with information tables for some of the corporate partners of the Women and Minority Engineering Programs National Advisory Board (GlaxoSmithKline, IBM and Navair). Dr. Javon Adams facilitated a session geared towards high school students called, “The Secrets for Getting Into and Surviving College”. Another key aspect of the STEM Lab allowed students to meet and interact with African American faculty, staff and graduate students. During registration, in addition to students receiving the STEM Lab t-shirts (student t-shirts were white), students received a clip board, pen/pencil and a “What Did They Share” sheet. Students had to identify African American faculty, staff and graduate students wearing black STEM Lab t-shirts in the crowd. The students then had to interview each person and answer three of the following questions:

What do you do at NC State?

What is your educational background?

Why did you become involved with science and engineering?

What do you like most about what you do?

What advice can you share on how I can best cultivate opportunities through STEM?

After completing the summary sheet, students returned to the registration table to pick up a small prize (NC State Engineering cup). Students were allowed to keep the NC State Engineering Career Fair Clip Boards.

The event wrapped up with a Meet and Greet with Mr. Freelon where he autographed his personal portrait or a photo of his work and took “Selfies” with guests. Additionally, the Minority Engineering Program Director and Dr. Adams presented Mr. Freelon with a small token of appreciation for his support of the event. We concluded the event with a group picture of all the student participants wearing their STEM Lab t-shirts.

Figure 2: The STEM Lab Floor Layout

Photo Highlights from the STEM Lab

Figure 3: Dean Louis Martin-Vega, Dr. Frank Hunte, Dr. Javon Adams, Mr. Phil Freelon, Kobi Felton (NCSU Student Assistant to Mr. Freelon for the day) and Dr. Justin Schwartz talking before the start of The STEM Lab.

Figure 4: Event volunteers setting up their activities and information tables.

Figure 5: Roger Russell, Director and Co-Founder of the Smile Camp, briefs NCSU student volunteers prior to the start of the STEM Lab.

Figure 6. Dr. Javon Adams introducing keynote speaker, Mr. Phil Freelon.

Figure 7: Mr. Freelon delivering the keynote address.

Figure 8. Excited participants at an activity table.

Figure 9. Participants at activity table using liquid nitrogen.

Figure 10. Participants exploring activity tables.

Figure 11. Participants and parents listen attentively to keynote speaker Mr. Freelon.

Figure 12: STEM Lab participants interviewing Dr. Javon Adams and recording their findings.

Figure 13: Participant at the “Bubbles” activity.

Figure 14: Participants at activity table lead by NCSU student volunteer, Eduardo Figon-Castillo.

Figure 15: Meet and Greet with keynote speaker, Mr. Phil Freelon.

PROJECT IMPACTS This event was well received by the targeted community. There was an overwhelming response to the event invite with 126 parents/guardians registering their students for the event. One hundred and seventy-two students were registered, broken down as follows: 86 Elementary, 56 middle school and 30 high school. The registration link had to be closed after only four days to prevent reaching the room’s maximum occupancy. Phone calls and emails were received up until the day before the event from parents/guardians wanting to register their student(s) for the event. The project effectiveness was evaluated through attendance at the STEM Lab as well as a survey that was sent to parents/guardians after the event. Over time, project effectiveness will be evaluated by repeat attendees to follow-up events, students participating in summer camps offered via the Engineering Place, and hopefully, enrollment at NCSU/participation in Minority Engineering Program. We received 17 responses; responses are shared below. Survey Responses (17 responses received)

1. Please rate your overall experience with the AAFSED: STEM Lab. (1-Very Satisfied, 5 -Very Unsatisfied) 1) 12 2) 2 3) 0 4) 2 5) 1

2. What did you like best about the AAFSED: STEM Lab?

1. Friendly staff, authentic excitement from participants, lots of varied activities. 2. The kid’s ability to interact with all aspects of the lab and not just watch from afar. The variety of

stations.

3. The variety of activities available and the engineering options. 4. Renowned engineer speaker sharing information on current structure of African American

Museum and hands-on activities for youth. 5. #1 the hands-on stations

#2 the kids having to interview actual scientists and engineers #3 getting to meet someone who actually helped design and build the African American History museum in Washington DC #4 the food was awesome

6. Hands on learning, STEM learning further careers, AA students and professionals, Mr. Freelon

7. High School breakout session towards the end.

8.

9. The science stations, especially the ice cream.

10. The professor interactions with students. Hearing Mr. Freelon. Hands on activities

11. Meeting the individuals in the stem careers

12. Simply the opportunity for the children to attend such an event

13. My son was able to meet Mr. Freelon and other influential educators.

14. We enjoyed all the exhibits.

15. Amount of hands on experiments available to kids. 16. I liked the hands on activities for children of all ages. I also like the students having to go around

asking STEM professionals questions. As well as the diversity in volunteers. It’s nice to know African-Americans aren't the only ones who concerned about the employment gap. Loved the speaker too. Thank you so much for a phenomenal event!!

17. I loved the activities and the discussion for high school seniors.

3. What did you like least about the AAFSED: STEM Lab? 1.

2.

3.

4. Parking hassles

5. N/A - there was plenty of time to enjoy everything

6. None 7. Lack of labs for High School and older students. Lack of having all of the mentioned labs due to

the lack of space.

8.

9. NA

10.

11. How clustered everything felt

12.

13. The variety of experiments and different exhibits.

14. 15. Space of the different experiments/exhibits. Wish there was more space between the exhibits

with the amount of people moving around. 16. I would like to have seen the college seminar with high school students offered to middle school

students as well.

17. Nothing, everything was great.

4. What could we do to improve this event? 1. Offer activities by age categories. I noticed several high school students waiting patiently as

younger participants crowded the activities. 2. The space for the event, mostly the stations that the kids can interact. There needs to be more

room to not have so many bottlenecks.

3. Larger area for lab activities. 4. You did a great job! More space for hands-on activities and more activities would be great. To

offer the Lab twice a year would be nice.

5. No suggestions

6. Larger space for activities, longer time for activities and other info a daylong event for all ages 7. Have more labs for the High School/older students. Have a speaker that is more motivational or

have two separate speakers for the younger audience and one for the High Schoolers.

8.

9. I would have preferred more hands on experiments, especially for the older kids.

10. Do more!

11. Spread the tables out 12. It would be wonderful if there was additional information about resources or camps or similar

opportunities for interested participants.

13. I'm not sure

14.

15.

16. 17. Maybe a list of high school courses that students should take to be considered for the program /

NCSU.

5. Would you participate if we hosted the AAFSED: STEM Lab again next year? Yes – 16, Maybe – 1

6. How likely is that you would recommend this event to others students, family members and friends? (1-Very Likely, 5-Very Unlikely) 1) 13 2) 1 3) none 4) 1 5) 2

7. Please share any additional comments. 1. 2. Great opportunity to expose your minority children to STEM. 3. 4. Enjoyed it!

5. I have already started telling people about it in preparation for when it happens again next year.

6. Idea- have a Fall and Spring STEM Day to reach more students 7. 8. 9. Thank you 10. 11. 12. 13. We had a wonderful time and we look forward to attending again next year. 14. 15. 16. I would like to know if you would be interested in bringing these types of events to rural

areas. I would love to connect with you to seek out some possibilities. 17. Thank you for this opportunity.

Very few surveys were completed however valuable feedback was shared that will assist us in planning next year’s event. A larger event venue will be secured as many parents shared that the space felt too confined. With a larger space, the ability to separate the age groups will be easier. A longer event day was also suggested. An extended day allows for more advanced activities to be facilitated for high school students as parents of the high school students felt that there weren’t enough activities for this age group. Additionally, we will have parents/guardians and students complete surveys during next year’s event. SUSTAINABILITY OF THIS INITIATIVE Dean Louis Martin Vega was extremely excited to see the turn out for this event. He shared his wishes for ensuring that the event is held each year. Additionally, due to feedback received from the event survey, we will certainly host the event next year. Thoughts to expand the event include hosting the event individually and on different dates for African Americans (African American Family Science and Engineering Day: AAFSED), Native Americans (Native American Family Science and Engineering Day: NAFSED) and Hispanics/Latinos (Hispanic American Family Science and Engineering Day: HAFSED). The professional student organizations, AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society), NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) will be asked to play an integral part in the planning and implementation of said events. This year’s program partnered with the College of Sciences (COS), the College of Textiles (COT) and the College of Natural Resources (CNR). Future events will expand to still include COS, COT and CNR but also making sure to include the individual departments within the College of Engineering.

The expanded efforts will be funded through financial and staff support from the College of Engineering, in particular, Minority Engineering Programs and Engineering Academic Affairs. Additionally, any grant funding that can be secured to help realize these programmatic efforts and extend these opportunities to as many as students and families as possible will be explored and pursued. The financial support received for this event covered the following: honorarium for Mr. Phil Freelon, transportation cost for Mr. Phil Freelon from his home in Durham to campus and back, t-shirts for participants, staff, faculty and STEM professionals who volunteered their time for the event and food. Additionally, books were purchased for display and giveaways for the African American Cultural Center Library exhibit. PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

Details of the 2017 AAFSED: The STEM Lab will be shared with Women and Minority Engineering Programs National Advisory Board to obtain feedback and garner corporate participation and possible sponsorship for the 2018 African American Family Science and Engineering Day.

THANKS AND RECOGNITION

A sincere thanks to Dr. Frank Hunte for his vision along with Dr. Justin Schwartz and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering for their support of the AAFSED: The STEM Lab. Thanks to the Eastman Chemical Company and the University Diversity Mini-Grant Committee and the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity for making this initiative a reality through funded support. Special thanks to the staff of the Minority Engineering Program for their assistance in planning and implementing the STEM Lab. Thanks to Mrs. Lauren Towns Carlton for her creative genius in designing the logo for the event that was used on the event invite and for the t-shirts. Last, but not least, thanks to all of the students and parents/guardians who attended the STEM Lab, as well as all the industry representatives, faculty, staff, graduate students, keynote speaker (Mr. Phil Freelon), the SMILE Camp and the NCSU MEP student volunteers for making the event a success.