Mamaroneck Students Create STEM Online Publication

Mamaroneck High School students have launched a new online publication called “BrainSTEM, an electronic STEM Journal, the first issue of which is now available online, district officials announced.

This debut publication, which may be the first of its kind on the high school level, includes articles and personal narratives such as This Season in STEM (news about recent discoveries in each of the disciplines), A New Class of Antibiotics,Why Gravity Keeps Me Grounded: What Science Means to Me, or New Species Discovered, as well as teacher/community member spotlights and book/Original Science Research reviews.

“With the growth of STEM as both an academic and career path, this journal gives students an inclusive avenue for exploring and sharing their interests in all things STEM,” said Guido Garbarino, MHS science teacher and faculty advisor for the STEM journal, in a statement. “The range of topics included and the number of students who contributed are quite impressive. Students worked hard to put this together, meeting at lunch, after school, and over email.”

According to the district:

BrainSTEM was conceived by MHS senior and editor-in-chief Max Schechter during his Original Science Research internship last spring at Rockefeller University, where he was paired with a mentor in a lab and had the opportunity to be involved with science outreach and education for middle school students in NYC. “I saw university journals out there such as Triple Helix, which about 20 colleges are members of, but hadn’t seen any high school publications like this. I was impacted by the outreach being done to the general public through Rockefeller University and wanted to bring that to Mamaroneck,” Schechter said. “It’s a way for everyone to be exposed to a wide array of science issues and generate interest even from non-science lovers.”

After pitching the idea for a STEM Journal to MHS Principal Elizabeth Clain and Garbarino last spring, Schechter began to make it happen in the fall. His first meeting brought out 20/25 students, who were interested in helping by either writing articles, supplying photographs or creating illustrations.

“I’m very happy with the final product,” Schechter added. “It’s so unique to have a publication like this that is completely student-run and of such high caliber. The articles are so well-written, and there’s such a great variety of pieces. The fact that we had so many kids willing to do the work on this shows how much interest in STEM there really is here at our high school. It’s good to be able to share that with everyone.”

Schechter hopes the publication will live on long after he graduates from the high school. And so does Ms. Clain.

“STEM Journal is a fabulous initiative that provides MHS students with an opportunity to showcase their interest and love of all areas STEAM-related. [Pay attention to the original art work!]. The student interest far exceeded our expectations, and we have full confidence that the Journal will become a valued medium in the years ahead,” Ms. Clain said.

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