An independent news publication of
United Way of Lancaster County

Search

Bright Side STEM class incorporates coding into Black History Month project (video)

STEM student Jillian Mills works on a Black History Month project at Bright Side Opportunities Center on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (Photo: Kyle Gamble)

Students in the STEM Girls Leadership Academy at Bright Side Opportunities Center are putting together special projects for Black History Month. Titled “Our Future, Our Past,” the goal is to explore Black female STEM inventors and trailblazers.

“When you see it, you can be it,” said Isiah Perry, program director at Bright Side. “It’s important, not only during Black History Month, but for women of color to see themselves celebrated and see themselves successful.”

The students research a Black female trailblazer in STEM or a related field, then build a 3D diorama conveying what they learned. Using the web-based coding platform Scratch, they record facts about the individuals they chose.

That allows the finished displays to be interactive: When you press a contact point, they will read a fact to you.

Students said they enjoyed the hands-on project.

“It’s been fun to do this and hear about what other people are doing,” Noemi Witmer, a STEM student, said.