I subscribe to an email newsletter named Model D that covers community news in Detroit. The company that publishes it also publishes other email newsletters that cover similar news around the state of Michigan.
In the last issue of Model D there was an ad for the SC4 STEM Fest. I thought to myself that this kind of event would be perfect for some kind of amateur radio involvement. So, I emailed our ARRL Section Manager and asked if he might know if anyone in the amateur radio community was exhibiting at the event, and if not, what we might do in the future to find out about upcoming events and to get involved with them.
I received the following response:
Thanks for the heads up I have forwarded this to the club up in Port Huron. If they can make it great, if not we will look a little further in advance and see if any local clubs can support. It would be perfect to introduce amateur radio at this one since a former astronaut will be there.
While this is an understandable response, I think it’s missing the boat. I think that someone in the ARRL organization should be keeping on top of these things and making sure that amateur radio has a presence at them. Not only that, we need to come up with some kind of exhibit that will be engaging enough so that kids will be attracted to our hobby, and if not our hobby, electronics and communications engineering.
This is really more than a small amateur radio club can handle. An effort like this really needs to be addressed on a statewide, if not a national level. I asked our section manager what he would think about starting some kind of Michigan Section STEM Committee, but I haven’t received a reply yet.
Having said all this, here are a few questions:
- Do you know if the ARRL has any kind of program for finding out about this kind of STEM event and any kind of exhibit that could be displayed at them? I know that the ARRL conducts the Wireless Institute, but that’s really a thing for teachers, not students.(Right after I post this, I’m going to email Steve, K5ATA, ARRL’s Education and Learning Manager about this.)
- Have you been involved with any of these STEM programs? If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences.
- Is there a list of STEM events somewhere that we could consult to find upcoming events?
- Do you have any ideas for what kind of exhibit would be a hit with the students and/or the teachers that attend these events?
I know this is all kind of partly baked, but I think that this could be a good way to get more youth involved in amateur radio. So, I say, “Let’s get on board with STEM!”