Alexandria Boys And Girls Club Has Fun With Hands-On Science

ALEXANDRIA, VA — As part of a local initiative to get children excited about exploring math, science and technology, Alexandria youth had fun with new hands-own STEM activities.

Alexandria's own youth with the Dunbar Alexandria Olympic Boys & Girls Club were some of the first to try the hands-on STEM activities during a launch event Wednesday. The DIY STEM activities were developed by Northern Virginia aerospace company RTX and Northwestern University as a curriculum for Boys and Girls Club youth programs for ages 9 to 13. The partnership aims to increase opportunities for children who may typically not have the same opportunities as other children.

"It helps those who are very curious-minded, especially children who don't realize they like engineering, be able to build out their own project and have a vision," said Jasmine Culver, director of STEM for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington.

RTX, the company formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, has partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs of America since 2015 to help youth get interested in STEM. It most recently worked on redeveloping the Boys and Girls Clubs' STEM curriculum.

Chad Hartman, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America's vice president of corporate partnerships and business development, knows the impact of Boys and Girls Clubs since he participated as a child. He said the youth have lots of potential, and programs like the DIY STEM give them the resources they need.

"The program itself has really been innovative inclusive and a great opportunity to help the future workforce to really strength their science and math skills where youth can problem solve, communicate, work together to figure out problems of what is possible," Hartman.

"What’s Up With That Cup?" was one of the activities the children tried. According to Culver, the activity involves using different kinds of cups such as paper, plastic and styrofoam and creating suction with a substance like water, soapy water or even chocolate syrup.

The other activity called "Wire We Doing This?" taught children how to build a circuit, according to Culver. Children are given a flashlight with insulators, conductors and a power source and try to get it to work.

Culver noted some Boys and Girls Clubs in the region already have a "great STEM identity." But with a focus on improving the STEM curriculum, it has increased participating children from nearly 200 to nearly 600.

"I think it's very, very important, especially with the Greater Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington," said Culver. "For all of greater Washington, I want our babies to have a STEM identity the same way they have a self-expression with art, the same way they can be physical with sports. I want them to know it's ok to make mistakes and to try new things you need to learn socially and emotionally to question what's around you, be assertive and investigate and collaborate."