Author: Veda Dayananda

Overview:

Every year, Innoverge hosts an Education Program to expose youth to a particular topic in STEM through interactive, project-based learning. In the past, we’ve hosted Sustainable STEMx, an in-person program with 65 students in Seattle in partnership with Upward Bound to highlight the science behind significant traditions in indigenous culture. 

This summer, we organized our 2023 Summer Education Program: STEMxLaw, a series of workshops introducing 6th-8th graders to the intersection of STEM and civics on topics ranging from forensic case studies to DNA analysis to the structure of government. We partnered with Keller Regional Gifted Center, a public magnet middle school in Chicago, Illinois.

Program Breakdown: 

Our Education Heads (Damian Musk, Aaliyah Short, and Debbie Mojekwu) and our Internal Director (Veda Dayananda) developed an interactive, hands-on curriculum. Aaliyah and Debbie taught the program in person with ten students.

The opening workshop, The Shape of Civics, discussed the nature of civics, the founding principles of American democracy, and gerrymandering as a symptom of a flawed system. It also featured discussion about active citizenship and participatory democracy as a method of creating a more robust republic

Forensic Science in Criminal Justice debunked some of the common misconceptions  surrounding the application of forensics in criminology. Students played murder mystery and spot-the-difference games to develop some of the important skills in this career, like observation, teamwork, and communication. 

Forensic Psychology discussed the role of psychology within the legal arena. Students explored major psychology-based caveats and flaws that could influence the legal system. They played a word recall activity to model the effect of proactive interference and memory decay, and discussed case studies involving DNA forensics. 

The fourth workshop, Law and Policy Creation, focused on the process of law creation by examining the steps in which bills are created. Students split into three groups and debated major bills to reenact a Congressional debate and further understand the law-making process.

In the final workshop, students learned forensic biology hands-on with a lab kit by using real techniques to match fingerprints, analyze DNA, identify fibers, test for poisons, and cast footprints.

We’d like to thank the Rajendra Social Impact Foundation and Vital Voices for their generous financial support, which has greatly assisted us in acquiring workshop activity materials.

Get Involved:

Innoverge is a global youth initiative diversifying the next generation of scientists and changemakers innovating for social good. Our mission is to empower youths from underserved communities in STEM with educational programs, resources, and mentorship. Would you like to support our programs, like the Remote Learning Program, to expand barrier-less STEM education for youths? Donate here, or get involved with Innoverge by subscribing to our Newsletter, attending our Fireside Chats, or becoming a Regional Director! Want to participate in our next Remote Learning Program? Email hello@innoverge.org.