Thinking about STEM

Today seems to be all about STEM and we couldn’t be happier!

STEMposium is happening this evening at Issaquah High School from 5:30-7:30 pm. Come explore student led booths that showcase STEM learning in our classrooms and after school clubs, participate in one of our activity booths, or see how STEM is used from one of our community partners.

A few highlights are:

- Kindergartners from Maple Hills will be coding BeeBots and hope to share with you the fun of PAIR PROGRAMMING.
- Visit Central Washington University’s portable planetarium where you can learn how to find the North Star, a few prominent constellations, and planets visible in the night sky.
- Robotics clubs from our elementary, middle, and high schools will share their passion for creating robotics to solve challenges.
- Skyline High School students will demo the traditional Chinese magic water bowl and magic mirror where you will explore vibration and the reflection of light.
Issaquah High Scool’s DECA will be selling pizza and snacks at the event. For more details and to see the program visit this link.

STEM Ambassador Born on This Day
“Science is a way of life. I think it all comes from the inside. It really gets to the very core of your existence. It is much like being an artist or a dancer. It’s something that demands everything from you that you are capable of,” Ruth Sager. This year’s STEMposuim falls on American Geneticist, Ruth Sager’s birthday (February 7, 1918 – March 29, 1997). Ruth challenged the teaching that had reigned since the time of Gregor Mendel, “the father of modern genetics” which led her to the discovery that important genes lay outside the nucleus in “organelles” and those genes determined important functions such as photosynthesis and were passed along genetically to new generations. She then switched her focus and began reserarching how cancer cells grow, multiply, and degrade chromosomal stability. She theorized that tumor suppressor genes might be the secret weapon halting the growth of cancer. She pioneered work in recombinant DNA technology, gene splicing, and cell cloning at Harvard for 22 years. Read more about Ruth in the Jewish Women’s Archive.

STEM Posters for your classroom!

If you want to know more about women in STEM check out the Nevertheless Season Two podcast and their episode highlighting amazing role models in their fields of science. They also have free poster downloads that you may use in your classroom!