On April 12, the UNCW STEM Learning Cooperative (STEM LC) hosted their annual STEAM celebration for inclusive populations at D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy in downtown Wilmington. We were very excited to bring the event to a new location in the community after three years of it being hosted at UNCW.
Geared toward special education learners who may not always have access to the same STEM opportunities as their typically developing peers, ChangeMakers was an official event of the 2019 North Carolina Science Festival presented by the Biogen Foundation and produced by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over 60 students from New Hanover County Schools, Pender County Schools, and Clinton City Schools participated in the event.
“The members of the STEM LC are making strides to ensure children who are underserved (e.g., poverty, disability, etc.) gain access to STEM learning opportunities. We recognize that we must encourage innovation in over to develop an effective STEM workforce,” said Dr. Amy Moody, director of the Center for Assistive Technology in the Watson College of Education. “The more opportunities we can give for students to engage in the STEM community, the more likely they will be to see the STEM workforce as a possible field for employment.”
During the ChangeMakers event, individuals with physical and learning disabilities, and friends, ages 4-17 used maker space stations to gain applied learning opportunities outside of the classroom without cost. The maker movement emphasizes applied learning in a social environment, which encourages learning through doing. During the event, students made fidget pencils, chip clips, brush bots, and musical instruments and used 3D doodle pens to make their own creations. Keeping in the spirit of the season, they also made grabbers for an Easter egg hunt and turned plastic eggs into night lights. After all of this hard work, the students celebrated in a photo booth!
The Children’s Department of the New Hanover County Public Library came to share information about their maker space and showcase some of their robotics. Faculty, staff, and students from the Watson College of Education volunteered alongside older individuals with disabilities who had an opportunity to practice their job skills while leading the stations.
I was honored to be a part of such an amazing and inspiring day. ChangeMakers truly was a team effort and demonstrates the greatness that can come from inclusion and partnerships.
Each year, Dr. Moody and her team set up a calm room for students who need a break from the stimulation of the event. It has never been used. I can’t tell you why this is, but I suspect it has a lot do with the engaging nature of an event thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of all learners, coupled with caring teachers and support staff who know how to help their students succeed and students who may just feel the magic.
As Dr. Van Dempsey, dean of the Watson College of Education noted, “There are events where the feel of the room tells you something really great is going on. This event was one of them.”
UNCW and all of the school districts who participated in ChangeMakers are partners in STEM SENC (Southeastern North Carolina) — a regional effort in 13 surrounding counties that brings together individuals, organizations, schools, institutions, and businesses for the purpose of making STEM accessible for all and preparing our students to be career- and college-ready. Please keep an eye out for our future events — and think about how you can be a ChangeMaker too.