San Simon Family STEM Night Success!
As part of the AISPIRE (American Indian Student-Parent Involved Research Experience) after school program collaboration with San Simon Day School on the Tohono O’odham Reservation, CIAN recently co-hosted a special San Simon Family STEM Night.
On May 2nd CIAN, WiO (Women in Optics), SOCk (Student Optics Chapter), and College of Optical Sciences students and staff visited San Simon Day School on the Tohono O’odham Reservation to celebrate the inaugural San Simon STEM Family Night. The event was hugely successful with Tohono O’odham students and parents in attendance. Students presented their science fair projects, a number of which were featured and received awards at SARSEF. University participants presented optical demonstrations including virtual reality glasses, a laser radio transmitter, and much more. There was also a rocket launch demonstration by the students and a tribal dance celebrating the students and parents’ culture.
Overall, the event was a huge success and will be occurring annually in May. CIAN will continue to co-host and participate in the event as part of CIAN’s AISPIRE After School program. The school and the optics volunteers were thrilled to see the event featured on the first page of “The Runner,” the official newspaper covering the Tohono O’odham Nation.
This event is largely in thanks to the dedication and hard work of previous ROKET (Research in Optics for K-14 Educators and Teachers) participant, Martha Rogers; and San Simon Principal, Frank Rogers. Additional thanks go to the student volunteers from WiO and SOCk, and all the participants at San Simon.
