Inspiring young people through activity

There are many ways you can engage in with young people about STEM subjects. For example, you might want to consider talking about your career or doing a presentation on the industry you work in. Alternatively, you may wish to be a school governor, to indirectly influence young people by having a direct influence on the curriculum.

In the last step we asked you to identify what influenced your choice of career or interest in STEM. However, in order to inspire young people it’s not enough just to convey your own experiences. You will need to find ways to relate your enthusiasm for STEM with the interests of the young people you volunteer with.

Activities provide a structured way of doing this.

In the video above, Jamie Pinnell, a STEM Ambassador, used a practical activity to engage a group of young people about properties of materials. Understanding this topic was a key part of the students’ studies and is also core to Jamie’s role as a mechanical engineer.

Discuss

You’ve seen extracts of Jamie’s activity above. What approaches did he use in his session? What stood out to you about the way Jamie’s activity was put together to engage the group of young people he was working with?