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Student learns the wonders of the heart.
Children learn the marvels of how blood circulates.
Hands-on STEM activities provided extraordinary opportunity for Black & Brown K-12 students to learn more about their bodies and the medical profession
— Dr. Calvin Mackie
NEW ORLEANS , LOUISIANA , UNITED STATES, November 14, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Hands-on STEM Activities Provided Extraordinary Opportunity for Black & Brown Students
STEM Global Action (SGA) lead affiliate, STEM NOLA, in partnership with Ochsner Health System hosted a “STEM Saturday” that helped children learn about their heart and circulatory system, including how their pulse, blood flow, valves and chambers all work together to pump blood throughout their bodies.
Children attending the event dissected sheep hearts, were exposed to technology with model hearts being printed on a 3-D printer, experienced the inside of the heart and circulatory system through virtual reality and left with their own mechanical heart that they built. Medical professionals from Ochsner, as well as college interns, led students through the activities.
“We want kids to have an interest in STEM fields,” said Dr. Calvin Mackie, the founder of SGA and STEM NOLA. “The people leading these activities look like them. Our children need to know that they can become medical professionals, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, researchers or robotic engineers. These are the building blocks for a future pipeline of STEM talent and workers and professionals in New Orleans.”
More than 150 K-12 students attended the Saturday morning event at the Lyons Recreation Center in the East Riverside neighborhood. Dr. Mackie’s groundbreaking programs engage Black & Brown students in their communities.
“You just see the excitement in their eyes and you know that today they are inspired and will grows as a result of what’s happening here,” said Sunni LeBeouf, Ochsner Health System Asst. Vice President of Public Affairs. “As part of our healthy state initiative we want to ensure young people are exposed to careers in STEM and healthcare so this is a wonderful opportunity to invest in community but also make sure that we are exposing our young people to opportunities in healthcare.”
One parent, Keisha Ridgeley-Kolar, called the event “fantastic.” She was excited that her sons were exposed to this type of hands-on learning and got to engage with medical professions. “My two youngest are interested in the medical field, and they’ve dedicated their Saturday, which we all know that providers don’t have much time anyway, so this is awesome that they take time out to come out and assist and participate.”
Her son Kolston is inspired to become a doctor.
“I really want to become a doctor and this program can help people who don’t have really good science teachers or who want to learn more about the human body,” Kolston said. “It’s all about doing experiments, testing everything and learning new stuff.”
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ABOUT STEM GLOBAL ACTION
Dr. Calvin Mackie founded STEM NOLA in 2013. The New Orleans non-profit is committed to expanding STEM education, especially in communities of color. In July 2021, Dr. Mackie launched STEM Global Action, a campaign and network pursuing STEM education for children, parents, and communities. His initiatives have impacted more than 100,000 students, 20,000 families and 5,100 schools across the U.S., and in five countries. An archive of Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast episodes is HERE.
The STEM Global Action website includes:
STEM Global Action Today (https://stemglobalaction.com/stem-global-action-today/), a newsletter with comprehensive articles on some of the most prominent issues related to STEM and takes readers into the lives of STEM educators and their extraordinary students, who will be the STEM leaders of tomorrow.
STEM Global Action Data Center (https://stemglobalaction.com/stem-data-center/), a one-stop resource library for studies, reports, video presentations and news coverage about STEM.
Michael K Frisby
Frisby & Associates
+1 240-988-9791
mike@frisbyassociates.com
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