As a staff person developing educational programming for a history museum, I find it exciting to use STEM concepts to tap into new ways to engage audiences.  A student who doesn’t care about a tour of an old house might very well be excited about a discussion of the evolution of technology used in the kitchen or the science behind family recipes.  STEM concepts can be found all over our museums and artifacts, but it is kind of like one of those 3-D images that you have to stare at until you go cross-eyed.  Not everyone sees it right away, and so we have to help our audience and sometimes other museum staff to see the science and technology that is inherently part of everything around us.  Museum staff are always working to make sure our programs are relevant and engaging to our audiences, and right now STEM is on a lot of people’s radar.  It doesn’t have to be superficial—following the latest trend—it is simply staying relevant to the audiences we are trying to reach.

 

I was never good at math.  I appreciate the subject’s value, but I have never been good at it.  As an adult I’ve seen programs and activities that include a lot of math concepts that I now find interesting.  If I had been lucky enough to see something like that as a child, everything could have been different for me.  I would have certainly done better in school.  I may have still struggled to stay engaged and understand concepts, but it would have put math in a whole new perspective for me.  I hope that the programs I am helping to develop today will be the spark that some artsy kid needs to finally “get” math.  That, I think, has a lot of value.

 

--Dani

 

--To identify, preserve, interpret, and promote the heritage of North Dakota and its people.

 

Danielle “Dani” Stuckle

Educational Programs and Outreach Coordinator

State Historical Society of North Dakota

North Dakota Heritage Center

612 East Boulevard Avenue

Bismarck, North Dakota 58505-0830

(701) 328-2794 (P)

(701) 328-3710 (F)

www.history.nd.gov