The egg drop: a classic science experiment that began at a jet propulsion lab in the 1950s which is now used around the world as a problem-solving challenge for students. The problem: how to safely land a fragile object like an egg when dropped from a great height. This classic experiment was the final assignment that capped off a week of learning at The UWI-Upper Level Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Vacation Camp. Held at the Department of Physics, The UWI, St Augustine campus in July, secondary school students ages 14 to 18 from 13 participating schools were able to get hands-on STEM experience.
“As the outreach coordinator in my Department of Physics, we had been wanting to do something of this nature for a while locally,” said Prof Shirin Haque, astronomy professor in the Physics Department. “Linking up with the Upper Level Educational Institute (ULEI) allowed us to keep our ears on the ground with high school students to create an amazing experience for them right here at The University of the West Indies,” says Haque, who added that ULEI CEO, Shoba Bedassie was integral to the programme’s coordination and ultimate success.
Prof Haque, who took on the role as the science programme coordinator for the event, aimed to expose a new generation of students to the world of STEM and impart the skills that would help them develop the passion for one of the many fields in STEM that can bolster the future of T&T. Students were required to write an essay detailing why they wanted to participate in the camp, and the responses were overwhelming. “We were oversubscribed for the 30 spaces,” says Prof Haque, “so we had a full house indeed!”
Each day of the week was dedicated to a different letter of STEM— Monday was Science Day led by Shazir Ali, Tuesday was Technology, with Dr Stephanie Mohammed, Wednesday Chelsea Manwah took on Engineering and Kaylan Marie Achong handled Mathematics. “It all culminated on Friday with the Egg Drop Competition, which required all the STEM skills of creativity, design and problem-solving skills to be harnessed,” says Prof Haque. “Six teams competed for the egg to be dropped from the fourth floor of the Natural Sciences building to land unbroken, encapsulated with the best engineering design. The teams explained to the judges the science, physics, design and mathematics behind their project.” Incredibly, every team was able to land their egg intact.
The camp consisted of morning and afternoon sessions meeting with scientists and having hands-on lab demonstrations coordinated by the technical staff in the Department — Chief Technician Shazaad Ali-Shah and Research Technician Sadira Khan. Students learned about programming drones, light powered robotic vehicles, 3-D printing and other cutting edge technologies. “What I enjoyed most about the UWI-Upper Level experience was that it was a very hands-on experience, and I got to talk to a lot of professionals in their field, which gave me a lot of insight to what I want to study in the future” says Amy Lezama, one of the students from the camp.
“The best part was the egg-drop! It was very fun,” says Sian Khoon Khoon, another camper. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity and I’ll for sure see you at the next STEM camp!”
One key aspect of the camp was instilling in students a sense of what is possible in the world of STEM and sparking their imaginations. “The future is greatly technological. The younger generation is the future. As a matter of fact, it is already here,” says Prof Haque. “There is barely any aspect of life that can escape technology anymore – how we communicate, how we do banking, medical care, and climate change. The list is endless. All require STEM skills which is focussed more on holistic problem solving than working in silos.”
For Prof Haque, the most memorable aspect of her time at the camp was getting to interact with the campers and share her love of STEM, physics in particular. “They were so utterly inspiring with their intrigue, participation, and excitement,” say Prof Haque. “What I saw in the camp that week, our future in the hands of children like these is bright and full of hope. One incident does stand out for me – on Mathematics Day, I drew a number line going from negative five to positive five and asked students to clamour around the number they felt they identified in their love for mathematics: positive five being totally love it to negative five being totally hate it!. One young student stood at negative five, saying he hated mathematics. At the end of the sessions that day, seeing the power of mathematics differently – he exclaimed, he would like to revise his position on the number line to positive four. Moments like that make all the effort worthwhile.”
