Scientists all the way down: ExploSTEM fosters education, diversity

Two junior biology majors believe science is for everyone. 

Isha Hooda and Vanessa Vaudrey are the co-presidents of ExploSTEM, a science education club on campus geared towards teaching elementary and middle school children about science. 

Together, with the help of their adviser Sally Mallowa, a biology professor, the club has hosted three summer camps. On Nov. 2 it held its second annual Science Night at Adventure Elementary in Harrisburg.

At the event, Augustana STEM clubs, groups in Mallowa’s “Biology and Human Concerns” class and previous Augustana STEM campers set up stations and activities for students of the elementary school to attend and learn more about science-related topics. 

Kenneth Monjero Igadwa, president of Fun and Education Global Network, did a hands-on STEM presentation with the children attending the event, demonstrating concepts like buoyancy and perception.

Fun and Education Global Network’s mission, as stated on its website, is to “seek to improve lives globally through interactive learning experiences, sharing information, mentorship and team work to better the lives of children, teens and youth.”

Among the many clubs making an appearance at the event were Math Club, which played math-related card games with students, Society of Physics Students, which demonstrated the law of angular momentum with a bicycle tire, and the Augustana Computer Science Club, which had students play coded computer games. 

Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program also attended the event and demonstrated the kidney’s function of filtering blood. Pre-Dental Club showed students the effects of soft drinks on teeth and Neuroscience Club demonstrated the importance of cerebral spinal fluid for preventing concussions.

In 2019, before Vaudrey and Hooda began attending Augustana, Mallowa had already started a STEM camp with a former professor, Seasson Vitello. Mallowa said that one day, Vaudrey and Hooda walked into her office wanting to start ExploSTEM.

“It just kind of happened,” Hooda said. “Vanessa and I were talking about doing something with kids and education, and we wanted to start out with something like a STEM camp.”

Soon, the three decided to kickstart a club focused on science education and came up with the name ExploSTEM.

Hooda and Vaudrey attended camps as young students. Hooda attended Camp Invention and GEMS camp at South Dakota State University in middle and high school. Vaudrey, who grew up near the Three Rivers Park District in and around Minneapolis, regularly attended day camps where she learned about animals, exercise science and the importance of park systems and environmentalism.

Despite her experience attending camps, Vaudrey didn’t have a strong background with childhood science education when she stepped into a leadership position with ExploSTEM. 

“Coming into [this position], I’m a very strong believer that children should be protected and have every single opportunity they can,” Vaudrey said. “I believe children are our future and that they should be nurtured and shown that science is for everybody. As someone who really likes science and who has loved it since I was a child, I see that reflected in the kids that come to our camps and events.”

Mallowa’s “Biology and Human Concerns” classes also attended the Adventure Elementary Science Night, demonstrating concepts like how colored water can cause flowers to change color. Although the groups were graded for their participation and attendance, Mallowa said she feels strongly that educating non-science major students through projects is more rewarding and less overwhelming for her students.

“They may not remember the things I say in class, but they will remember their science identity today,” Mallowa said. 

According to Mallowa, her students are not those who already know how important science is to everyday life. She said she believes everyone should have access to scientific knowledge despite their major or career path. 

“These people are going to become our journalists, our teachers, our musicians,” Mallowa said. In her opinion, her “Biology and Human Concerns” classes will impact her students’ lives.

Among the clubs and biology class groups, three previous STEM campers from Augustana’s summer 2023 STEM camp also set up their posters. For the first time, these students were giving presentations to students and adults. They were now the experts.

Iyie Nyawanda, daughter of Mallowa, and Amelia Gubbels, daughter of biology professor Jennifer Gubbels, presented on the effects of caffeine in humans and daphnia, small water fleas. 

Nyawanda, a sixth grader at Mickelson Middle School in Brookings, said her favorite part of the project was looking into the microscope. Gubbels, a seventh grader at Canton Middle School, said she enjoyed making the poster.

Two posters down, Steve Falquerabao, a sixth grader at Edison Middle School in Sioux Falls, presented on different kinds of bacteria that he swabbed on campus when he attended the STEM camp this summer. His favorite part of his project was “swabbing stuff.”

Sitting on a couch in the middle of the large room, watching the hustle and bustle of elementary schoolers and student presentations, Mallowa pointed to Falquerabao.

“Look at him, pointing to his poster,” Mallowa said with a smile. “See how much pride he has in himself.”

According to Mallowa, science includes a significant amount of privilege. 

As an example, Mallowa mentioned the selection process for the summer BRIN program, research opportunities for undergraduate students via an annual University of South Dakota grant. 

Until recently, she said, international students were not highly considered for the program. In order to stay involved in science during the summer, international students would come to her to help with summer STEM camps.

According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, people of color — defined as Hispanic or Latino, Native American or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander or more than one of these — made up less than 40% of all science occupations currently in the United States. 

This data, consistent with prior research on the effects of race on opportunity, led Mallowa to seek out students of underrepresented groups for the STEM camps.

By having Augustana international students help with the camps, the middle-schoolers attending the camp can see a reflection of themselves and their identity in science. In that space, it’s not about identity. Everyone is a scientist.

“With our STEM camp, we focus on diversity but also students who come from underrepresented groups,” Hooda said. “It feels good to give those students opportunities to explore different parts of STEM because you wouldn’t expect them to get those kinds of opportunities [under normal circumstances].”

As the night came to a close, elementary students and their parents filtered out of the space to begin their journeys home. The service made Hooda and Vaudrey feel like they did something to impact the scientific community, something that could spark change.

But the two said science is also just a lot of fun.

“It’s always a good day when you make a kid smile,” Vaudrey said.

Updated: 11/18/23