Science Challenge: Imperial College

Back in January I decided to enter the Science Challenge, which is 'the Royal College of Science Union's annual science communication competition. Requiring entrants to demonstrate their skills in scientific debate and reasoning, the Science Challenge tests the ability of today's young scientists to teach the public about the science that affects their lives.'

Not only can Imperial students enter but schools can too! So why not enter next year! Communicate your enthusiasm for Science and if you're lucky you may even be rewarded for it - previous years have had trips to CERN! Make sure you don't miss out!

Although I didn't get into the finals, I managed to get to the quarter-finals with the following essay: 

"How do we get the next generation interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine)?" Answer this question via an essay, maximum 800 words.

The next generation are the future so in order to get them interested in STEM we must get them while they are young. Let’s just take a look at what is in toy stores. In the girls aisle we see a blur of different shades of pink, we focus onto the items and we begin to see tutus and dolls. On the other hand the boys’ aisle is a blur of blue which turns out to be construction toys which help develop their skills, like logic, problem solving and creative thinking. Shouldn't girls be able to play with such skill-enriching toys? If we are going to try and get the next generation interested in STEM this is the place to start.

Taking the young to planetariums, hands-on workshops and live events to see science in front of their eyes is a great way to stimulate their interest but the key thing here is maintaining that interest. As they grow they may start to outgrow the ‘family outings’ and begin to wander into the Universe on their own – how do we keep them interested in STEM? We tell them that STEM needs them, that they are a young, curious mind that could help unravel the mysteries of our cosmos. One major way we can do this is by getting them involved with real science. Whether that is participating in identifying cancer cells, counting birds or controlling an experiment online they can see and do real science at their fingertips. Make STEM something that can be done at home – using everyday objects to uncover the delightful surprises that STEM has to offer. Science shows like The Royal Institution Christmas lectures where the whole family can get involved and do science at home should be something that we see more on TV.

So we can try and get the young ones but what’s to stop the parents from telling them that STEM is too hard or what can you possibly do with STEM? We need to educate the parents and let them know about the myriad of opportunities available to their children via STEM. This can be done by advertising – having little fact files about, say, how much the engineer who helped design a building earns, what they do and what degree is required which could be displayed somewhere on the building or in the vicinity. Even larger advertising endeavours could include bus shelters, billboards and public transport where posters about job profiles displayed in a modern way through artistic means could be put up. Even just cool STEM facts or STEM teasers to grab a reader to learn more through a link that may be displayed on the poster to engage the public, including the next generation into STEM.

But let’s take a step into the classroom. This is where those young minds first encounter STEM via academic means and this is where they decide if they want to take STEM further. Classrooms sometimes lack enthusiastic teachers, stimulating demonstrations and real STEMists (a scientist, technologist, engineer or medic). Now, of course we cannot make it compulsory for teachers to be enthusiastic but we can bring real STEMists in. Where the STEMist should not throw facts at the students but should instead spark their interest, whether this is via a hands-on experiment, a group project or through trips to real laboratories, observatories and other STEM landmarks that would get them engaged in STEM. The students need to be able to see that STEM has a purpose in their life and that with STEM they can truly change the world - they are the ones that shall sculpt the future.

In particular, a STEMist who was an ex-student of the school would have a larger impact on the students as they used to sit in the same classroom seats as the current students. They can relate to them on a different level and truly believe that they have the capability to follow in their footsteps and be successful in STEM. More importantly, bringing undergraduates who were also ex-students into the school could relate to the students even more as they are roughly the same age and they can share their experiences and knowledge about the wonders of STEM.

All in all, STEM needs to be approachable and the stereotype of STEM being hard and boring needs to be eradicated via interaction with the next generation through the methods aforementioned; hopefully this is the way forward for a STEM rich future!