A couple of weeks ago, enthusiastic students and parents gathered at Dublin Elementary School for its annual STEAM Night. Various industry professionals were able to share their knowledge with the public, including organizations such as the Alameda County Beekeepers Association, the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and more. All parties were ultimately satisfied by the outcome of the event: kids and parents were delighted to learn about a variety of topics, and the presenters were pleased by the substantial turnout and the opportunity to enlighten the younger generations.
Notable presenters at the event included Liz Wilkins, Director of Schools and Outreach for the Zone7 Water Agency, who presented on the pathway of rainwater, where it ends up, and how to prevent flooding. By using an interactive model with sponges and a modeled landscape, she was able to clearly depict for students how flooding occurs and how we can collect rainwater efficiently. She also expressed her thoughts about the value of the event in its ability to teach both parents and students.
“Opportunities like STEAM Night give an opportunity for students and parents to learn together, even though the parents might not know it. Since there are so many different kinds of science and engineering being presented, it gets us out of the box of science being one type of thing,” shared Ms. Wilkins.
“There were a lot of great questions from kids and parents, so people took a real interest in our presentation,” affirmed Dr. Trenton Brendel with Ms. Wilkins, one of the presenters from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The laboratory presented the topics of lasers, plasma, and optics, which were particularly interesting for elementary schoolers.
Mr. Bob Nutter, a representative of the Alameda County Beekeepers Association, was also among the guest speakers, presenting a colony of bees. He excitedly pointed out the queen bee to visitors, noting its specific shape and size.
“There’s so much interest in kids about bees and about nature. They’re very curious and want to understand better what their environment is like and what sort of things go on in the animal community,” stated Mr. Nutter. He hopes to return next year for STEAM Night.
Another valuable addition to the program was Mr. Chien Ly, founder of the ROV Tour: Underwater Robotics Adventure, who attended STEAM Night for the first time. His booth was incredibly active as he gave students the opportunity to use a controller to maneuver a submarine robot.
“It gives them an early exposure to technology and to see something that they don’t see every day. In a way, you open up a whole new platform by exposing kids to marine science and robotics at the same time. I’m hoping that I’ll be back next year to show more kids how to build underwater remote vehicles,” he hopefully reflected. He hopes to continue sharing his passion for teaching as well as science as a whole.
Finally, also for the first time this year, the Tri-Valley Stargazers and the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society (MDAS) attended, setting up six telescopes on the blacktop of the campus. It was a perfect night for stargazing with generally clear skies, and students and parents were in awe of Saturn, Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, and more.
“I thought this was a wonderful opportunity for people in the Astronomical Society to share their interests and telescopes, but also to educate people about what they can see in the sky. There’s a lot of interest too, as there may have been about 80-100 people who came to visit the telescopes. Especially for people who haven’t looked through a telescope before, to see something like Saturn for the first time is incredibly beautiful,” commented Mr. John Corlett, a member of MDAS. Along with Mr. Don Dossa, another MDAS member, the two men taught astronomical facts and principles to nearly 100 students and parents throughout the night
The event was organized by Ms. Simi Gaur, who has been the event coordinator for the past two years. Ms. Gaur has been instrumental in popularizing the event, which, prior to the COVID pandemic, was comparatively small and run by a few school volunteers. Part of her inspiration is her sincere belief that “the event provides an environment of creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving.” However, while her efforts have proved successful, the events require a constant flow of volunteers to keep them going, so Ms. Gaur hopes, especially in light of this night’s record turnout, to continue to build up volunteer enrollment in the coming years.
Student volunteers were among the ranks of volunteers helping in the event. For example, students in 4th grade and above had the opportunity to do a hands-on sheep eye dissection—an activity led in part by student volunteers from Dublin HOSA. A number of volunteers from Wells Leadership were also present, helping out with the logistics of the event as well as the microscopes.
“STEAM Night has been a fantastic evening for our students and their families. It’s been wonderful seeing our community come out tonight to do some hands-on science together. It was amazing seeing Saturn’s rings as well as doing dissections this year, which has been a new addition for us. I’m really grateful to our former students who’ve come back from Wells and from Dublin High to help make this event really special. It really feels like a community event,” concluded Ms. Lauren McGovern, the principal of Dublin Elementary School.
Ms. Gaur hopes to continue hosting STEAM Nights until her youngest child graduates from Dublin Elementary. STEAM Night will return next year!
