STEM 2019

The STEM Academy is a three week summer program designed to help students learn science, technology, engineering and math skills within the context of their own culture. Students engage in a variety of critical thinking and hands-on activities that help them identify, explore and tackle problems within their own communities. Throughout the program, students gain valuable research, product design and technical skills. Some activities that students have partaken in past years include: building biologically inspired robots, using native plants to learn about water filtration, experimenting with traditional gastronomic techniques, visiting UC Berkeley and hearing from inspiring guest speakers. The Academy seeks to emphasize collaboration and traditional knowledge as the foundation upon which students build their STEM skills. -Mira Cheng

"This was on the second day of the camp, during which the students took part in an 'inventing activity'. They identified issues in the space they were in, and broke into teams to design prototype solutions for their problems. Here you can see one team designing an indoor basketball hoop to remedy the issue of lack of activities in the space."
This was during the presentations for the "inventing activity" on the second day of camp. This group presented an advertisement for their basketball activity set, which came in both large and small versions.
This photo shows guest speaker, Danielle Forward, presenting on the second day of camp. She is an indigenous woman working for Facebook as a product designer. Her presentation highlighted the need for both art and STEM skills in technology.
This photo shows some of the ideas and prompts the students were asked to address when thinking about their final STEM project
In this photo, you can see one of the students piloting the Kamagami robots that they constructed on a previous day. Their objective was to navigate the robot through the obstacle course in the shortest amount of time.
This photo is from the presentation on traditional ecological knowledge in regards to acorns. Pictured here is one step of the acorn drying process, with a handmade basket in the background. This lecture focused on the interconnectedness of STEM and traditional knowledge.
This photo shows a student teaching their teacher how to bead. The student was very knowledgeable and patient with the teacher in sharing the way they felt comfortable beading.
Pictured here is the tour of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, located on the UC Berkeley campus. The students are observing a piece of wood being laser-cut into the shape of a bear.
This is another photo from the field trip to UC Berkeley. It was taken during the scavenger hunt at the foot of the Campanile as one of the steps towards completion of the hunt.
This photo shows the students in conversation with two interns and Berkeley graduates who came to represent the NASD (Native American Student Development Office) during the field trip.
This photo was taken at the end of the field trip to Berkeley, just before departing.
Students recording for their final science project which featured a short film about waste and recycling.
Students showing their families how to use the Kamigami robots during the STEM Academy graduation. On the table in the lower-left corner lies the sample “dream house” architecture project that students worked on during the program.

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