STEM AMBASSADORS IN THE COMMUNITY
During the COVID-19 lockdown, communities became more important than ever.
We were inspired by stories from across the UK of people bringing not just assistance to those in need, but also fun, creativity, learning and a little bit of joy to their neighbourhoods.
STEM Ambassadors in the Community aims to encourage STEM Ambassadors to get involved in hyper-local STEM engagement activities and become more visible and active in their own local communities.
This is in order to provide an outlet, even during lockdown, for the core STEM Ambassador purpose of encouraging young people to engage with STEM, as well as to reach out to communities that have perhaps not benefitted much from STEM engagement previously.
HYPER-LOCAL STEM ENGAGEMENT: WHAT DO WE MEAN?
We were inspired by the work of the Fun Palace campaign, who for 2020 came up with the idea of 1000 Tiny Fun Palaces to bring extra small, hyper-local Fun Palaces to communities – something made by a few people on a street or in a block, sharing skills and knowledge, together creating something just a little bit beautiful and fabulous.
There are loads of community-based STEM engagement possibilities which can be made COVID-secure.
This example (left), from the USA, is of a squid scientist called Danna Staaf who after 40 days of lockdown decided she could share her science in a fun and interactive way, by drawing on the pavement outside her house!
If you have already been invovled in this kind of STEM Ambassador activity, then please let us know! Make sure you add the activity to your STEM Ambassador profile.
SO WHAT NEXT?
Firstly, you might want watch (or re-watch) the recording of our launch event.
On 30th September 2020 we held a virtual “Community Conversation” on Zoom to explore in more details ways in which STEM Ambassadors could think about having an impact in their local communities and keep young people engaged with STEM during periods of lockdown and social distancing.
Click here to see a recording of the session.
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If you are a STEM Ambassador and have already been invovled in this kind of hyper-local STEM activity, then please let us know! Make sure you add the activity to your STEM Ambassador profile, and drop us an email to let us know how it went.
If you have an idea for a community event but are looking for participants, you might want to make an offer via the STEM Ambassador website.
And please, keep in touch! Email us with any of your ideas, stories or insights into community STEM Ambassador activities, and sign up now for our dedicated newsletter.