Miss Navajo Nation STEM Day at Tuba City Boarding School

On August 19, 2024, the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management and the Office of Miss Navajo Nation hosted the Miss Navajo Nation STEM Day at Tuba City Boarding School in Tuba City, Arizona. Amy Reeves-Begaye, current Miss Navajo Nation (2023-2024), and approximately 400 students (grades 4-8) attended STEM Day. Students participated in various hands-on STEM practices and experiments. Franklin Stewart led the presentation for 4CSCC and exhibited multiple lessons and projects developed by 4CSCC. Our focus included how different professionals use STEM throughout their careers. Emphasizing the hands-on STEM curriculum, we showcased physical computing and its use in monitoring environments.

Sessions introduced students to scientific computing and its beneficial use in professional and academic settings. We attracted participants with our 4CSCC Raspberry Pi mobile kit, and experiments involving the micro:bit. One experiment utilized micro:bits to monitor wind speed on the micro:bit’s LED grid. Another experiment showcased the micro:bot and micro:controller, this gathered the most attention due to its simple design. Students were interested in the micro:bot’s function, we later discussed how this would be used for collecting data if we were to attach environmental sensors onto the robot and have the controller display values. Sharing simple experiments offers students a diverse sense of scientific computing and how we can learn about the environment.

Further, we aligned the importance of environmental education and cultural relevancy, including land reclamation and the effects of harmful factors affecting the Navajo Nation, i.e., uranium mining, wildfires, and unlawful trash burning. Discussing these topics raises awareness of pressing issues in the Navajo Nation and motivates students to pursue STEM careers. We would like to thank everyone involved this event and the students who showed interest in our projects and the goals of th 4CSCC.