This tricked-out new technology lab is meant to stem the decline in science education.
Kingsborough Community College cut the ribbon on a new laboratory for teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics — or Stem — designed to spark students’ interest in the four fields of education that experts say are key to future prosperity for both individuals and the nation as a whole.
“This lab will be used to assist with student recruitment,” said Kingsborough President Farley Herzek at the July 16 ceremony. “To light students up, motivate, and inspire them to develop an interest in the sciences, in robotics, in graphic design. The idea is exposure.”
The $200,000 lab is the centerpiece of Kingsborough’s new Stem Summer Boot Camp, a two-week program to familiarize incoming freshmen with science and technology careers by giving them the opportunity to work hands-on with high-tech equipment in the physical and biological sciences.
The students are divided into two groups of 30, allowing for more individualized instruction, and they spend a total of 40 hours exploring 10 subjects, including Alternative Energy, BioMedical Engineering, Computer Graphics and Animation, Environmental Technology, Forensics, Manufacturing Technology, Materials Science, Medical Imaging, Nursing, and Robotics. Kingsborough students will use the lab to work on projects throughout regular semesters as well.
A nationwide decline in interest in the Stem fields is causing rising concern in academic and business circles. America is increasingly falling behind the rest of the world in Stem education, and fewer and fewer Americans are choosing Stem career paths.
The 2012 Program for International Student Assessment found that American 15-year-olds ranked 35th in mathematics and 27th in science compared to 64 other countries.
A National Science Foundation report found that only four percent of U.S. bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2008 were in engineering, compared to 31 percent in China. Japan awarded 61 percent of all bachelor’s degrees that year in science and engineering, while 51 percent of Chinese bachelor’s degrees were in those fields — compared to just 31 percent of American bachelor’s degrees.
“It’s about our economy and making sure that America remains a leader in innovation,” said Councilman Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island). “Our best hope is to invest in our youth and inspire critical thinking and hands-on learning. The curiosity in the minds of these young people is the best hope to finding answers to 21st-century challenges.”
Of the 15 major fields of study, engineering produces careers with the highest median earnings, but just 20 percent of college students choose Stem majors, according to a 2011 report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
Loretta Brancaccio-Taras, chairwoman of Kingsborough’s Biological Sciences Department, said that undergraduate students tend to ignore Stem fields if their interest is not piqued within the first two years of college.
“The Stem Lab directly addresses this issue and provides students with engaging experiences with highly-trained faculty who are also scientists,” said Brancaccio-Taras.
Incoming freshman Natalie Lewis said the Stem boot camp changed her major — and maybe her life.
She used to work at a relative’s mechanic shop fixing cars, and always had an interest in engineering. But when Lewis applied to Kingsborough earlier this year, she originally chose culinary arts as her major. The Stem lab convinced Lewis to follow her heart. She’ll be majoring in engineering this fall.
“I always loved working on cars,” Lewis said. “And that’s what engineering is. It’s like putting puzzle pieces together.”
