Your PSET Can Wait.

STEM is the buzzword, hashtag, and movement of the decade. “Innovation”, “success”, and “Silicon Valley” are words we hear everyday here at Stanford. We know about STEM from all the publications, programs, and pipettes. But impactful science is meant to be more than your PSET due Monday.

This class aims to examine STEM as a social issue through four main intersections: culture/history of STEM, STEM education, science communication, and corporate science & service. We hope to tackle questions such as: How has racial violence and gender discrimination affected the history of science and Silicon Valley?, What are some initiatives to communicate science to the next generation?, and What exactly does it means to be an ethical scientist and member of society? Because this class covers a breadth of topics, we welcome educators, scientists, and anyone interested in STEM. With this interdisciplinary group of “techies” and “fuzzies”, we aim to redefine STEM from a social angle.

During the trip, we will explore how science is and is not being communicated in the Bay Area. We will visit different science museums (ie. Exploratorium, Tech Museum, and CA Academy of Sciences), academic/research institutions, nonprofits, and companies. In addition, there will be opportunities to directly serve and interact with the community at certain museums to gain insight into their experiences with science education, outreach, and their effectiveness.

-Flora Wang and Jenny Han