Engineering students from USM dazzle Laurel Magnet third-graders
Young minds were stimulated at the Laurel Magnet School of the Arts as the National Society of Black Engineers chapter from the University of Southern Mississippi visited students for a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics outreach event, conducting numerous science experiments.
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“Through a connection I had at USM, the National Society of Black Engineers was organized to come and do some science experiences to get our young students excited about STEM,” said Rebecca Hopper, science and social studies coordinator with the Laurel School District.
Micah Hill, a 2023 Laurel High graduate, was among the USM students who helped lead the experiments.
“It was amazing to go through the Laurel School District, then come back to give back to the kids here now,” Hill said with a smile.
She was the recipient of the 2023 Amazon Future Engineers award, which is awarded to 400 high school students across the country. Hill was guaranteed an internship at Amazon and given $40,000 to use toward her education.
“It was an amazing experience this summer,” Hill said. “I was able to get hands-on, real-life experience about what I wanted to do as a career. I was able to gain connections with so many people around the state and around the nation. It was such a valuable experience.”
Hill and the other Southern Miss students led third-grade students through a variety of experiments, which student Kwame Addae explained.
“We did the pepper experiment, where we put dish soap on our finger and the pepper spread apart,” he said. “Then, we did a pencil experiment where we poked them through a waterbag. When the pencils made it through the waterbag, the water wasn’t able to leak out. Our last experiment was making foam by using soap, vinegar and green food coloring, which made a foam that rose out of the cup. It exploded out of the plate.”
Lena Roberts, another student who took part in the experiments, discussed which experiment was her favorite and shared that she wanted to continue to learn more about science.
“The pepper experiment was my favorite, how the blanket of pepper broke apart in the water,” she said. “I’d like to learn more experiments to be able to show my grandmother and to teach her.”
Addae said that he wanted to grow up to be a scientist.
“It was so cool, and I want to learn more about science,” he said with a huge grin.
Hopper said, “I think that it is important for students to see their future in front of them.”
It’s exciting to see students get excited about the experiments, she said.
“Every educator’s heart wants to see the excited expression on a student’s face,” Hopper said. “They loved every experiment and have been asking how can they become a scientist, things like that. It makes them think about their future.”
NSBE chapter members also planned to do experiments at Oak Park Elementary.
“Everything we do at the Laurel School District is to help them grow and be successful beyond the years that they are here with us,” Hopper said. “For former students to come back, organize things and spread the education and love to the kids makes us see that we are doing what we need to do.”
Hill said she was a bit nervous to do some of the experiments to begin with, but seeing the young faces light up made things much easier.
“I didn’t expect them to be so excited, but some of them seemed to have the most enjoyable experiences,” she said.“ I feel like they will be able to go back and say, ‘In third grade, these people came to show me something.’ One small memory like today can go on forever.”
Hill added that it took someone older in her life to push her to pursue engineering.
“It reminded me of myself,” she said. “I remember when I was in the eighth grade, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go into STEM. It wasn’t until I had a teacher who showed me that it was possible. I wanted to come here today and show that to the kids here today.”
Hopper said, “That is everything,” reflecting on the words and excitement from the third-grade students.“STEM isn’t always explored at such a young age, so the more it can be explored now, it gets them to know and understand the opportunities they have that they may not have known before. I hope it makes them see themselves as scientists or engineers someday. We don’t want them to have any limits on themselves or what they can do.”
When asked about her time with the NSBE, Hill said she hopes it motivates children toward a brighter future.
“I feel we are making a change, one experiment at a time,” she said. “We are able to give kids experience and hopefully give back to the community, which means so much to me.”
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