Anika Aeka (‘24) through all of her hard work over the past year is poised to win the Girl Scouts Gold Award this April. Her STEAM—science, technology, engineering, art, and math— fairs and take-home kits at the Pleasanton Public Library build interest in science and art at an early age.
The Gold Award is given to only 5.4% of Girl Scouts. Scouts have to apply and work on a months-long project to bring about a lasting impact in their community.
Outreach for STEAM
Every month, Anika either runs a fair at the library with fun STEAM activities or creates a take-home kit that kids play with to learn in an interactive manner.
“It’s mainly for outreach because a lot of these programs tend to be targeted towards older kids, but STEAM is such a big part of our world nowadays that getting these kids into this kind of mindset and interested in these things is really important to me,” said Aeka.
The STEAM fairs are made of different stations each with a planned activity. January had an art station for origami bear bookmarks, a technology station for programming robots, and an engineering station for building a raft with popsicle sticks. The next STEAM fair in March will be nature-themed.
“We had a [station for] building your own raft with a bunch of popsicle sticks and tape. It was trying to get kids to understand how things float and why. We asked three essential questions: ‘Why do you think this happens?’, ‘How do you think this happens?’, and ‘What are you doing to make it happen?’ That really helped push their thinking,” said Aeka.
During February, April, and May, Aeka will be distributing take-home kits that each have a special theme relating to STEAM. The February kit contains simple circuit components that kids can play with.
“[The take-home-kits are] really getting kids to think about how they can use technology in their everyday lives. It’s not just technology that you see older kids using, [but] stuff that you can actually use,” said Aeka.
A Long Lasting Impact
Aeka also runs an exhibit in the children’s section, putting up posters and picking books related to a specific theme. January was winter animals and snow, and February was electricity.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for older students: volunteering and all these summer programs. I feel like getting the ability to be involved from such a young age gives children such a head start. Being exposed to these broad topics at such a young age really helps their development and honestly helps with what they want to do in life,” said Aeka.
To win the Gold Award, the project must have a long-lasting impact. Aeka made plans to ensure that the STEAM activities continue even after she leaves for college.
“I’ve [made sure] that all my poster boards come with two separate instructions that I’ve made about activities kids can do at home themselves. Even if we can’t have these kits in the future, we can put up poster boards and print out flyers. Kids can pick up a flyer and show their parents. Parents [can then] find kids these experiments,” said Aeka.
In the future, Aeka wants to go into pediatrics. This project closely matches what she wants to do and the impact she wants to leave behind.
“Thinking about what I enjoy and where I can make a difference led me to the library. I loved going there as a kid [and] I spend so much time there. I really love science [and] I want other kids to be inspired by these subjects,” said Aeka.
