Saturday mornings are usually for lay-ins but on this day, it’s 7.30am and I’m headed to Birmingham with a group
of young people from my BME community in Basildon. Three trains later we made it
to London Euston to board a virgin train to the Birmingham NEC for the Big Bang
Fair.
For many of the young people with
me that day, neither they nor their parents had come across the Big Bang Fair
and this is the largest celebration of
science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) for young people in the UK
which has been running since 2009. I see myself in a lot of these kids because once
upon a time, I too was alien to many of these enriching events and experiences.
I’ll save the reasons for another post but what I really want to share is some of the feedback
from the young people on the day and messages from a couple of the parents which highlights the importance of outreach and public engagement
with science.
The journey from Basildon to
Birmingham on a Saturday in itself was a chore but the experience for the kids
and feedback received from both the young people and their parents reminds me
of the essence of engaging young people with STEM and particularly my role in
promoting STEM to the BME community.
Impressions from the day (NB: You may need to magnify images to read text)
I'm looking for a bursary/sponsorship to accommodate more kids next year so if you wish to sponsor us then please get in touch with me: hephziangela@gmail.com
Thanks
