STEM for Students at Transition Event

This winter more than sixty-five Seattle high school students attended a transition to college event at North Seattle Community College (NSCC). During the event, students learned how to navigate disability services and received tips about how to make a successful transition from high school to college. Included were two hands-on STEM labs—nanotechnology and biochemistry. The students were excited to work in a college lab and learn from a college instructor.

Frank Deering led the biochemistry lab. Participants viewed pond water and coral under microscopes, used an anti-static gun, and saw skeletons, a model of a human heart, and a simulated pound of fat. The highlight of the lab was the Pennies to Gold experiment. In this activity, students coated pennies with zinc and, using a flame, changed the color of the pennies from copper to gold. The students learned that under exposure to the flame, the zinc coating reacted with the copper penny core and formed a golden-colored brass…pretty cool stuff!

Maureen Devery led the nanotechnology lab. Participants learned how special high-resolution microscopes, like the Atomic Force Microscope, determine what a sample looks like by measuring the forces given off by the sample. Students also saw products that use nanotechnology, including a shirt with a coating of nanoparticles, which makes it repel water and ferrofluid (a liquid magnet).

The high school students were inspired by the hands-on experiments. Their participation encouraged some to pursue STEM fields.