The Graduate Society of Women Engineers partnered with The Urbana Free Library to promote youth participation in STEM through the Jump Into Science program on Saturday from 2-3 p.m.
While the library regularly hosts a wide variety of science-based programming, with topics ranging from astronomy to nature exploration, this activity spotlighted chemistry. Participants learned about acids and bases while creating a craft with invisible ink, blending hands-on experimentation with creative expression.
Esther Yi, a programming librarian at The Urbana Free Library and the event’s organizer, first became interested in incorporating science into library spaces during her previous role at the Champaign Public Library. When she came to Urbana, she noticed there were fewer science-focused events available and saw an opportunity to expand those offerings.
“Once I saw that niche hadn’t been filled, I was like, ‘Let’s try this, see if the community is interested,’” Yi said.
Though Yi noted that pleasant weather kept attendance lower than usual, the event still drew a crowd of approximately 30 community members, mostly consisting of families with younger children, reflecting continued enthusiasm for accessible, engaging STEM activities.
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Yi said her favorite part of being an event organizer was hearing directly from parents about their impact.
“I had someone who came up to me telling us, ‘Thank you,’ because her daughter wants to be a space geologist, which she did not realize was an actual job until her daughter got interested,” Yi said.
Keertna Bhuvan, outreach coordinator for GradSWE, said that her role in organizing events, particularly “Jump Into Science,” is a long-standing outreach initiative of her organization. In six years of working at the library, Yi has collaborated with four coordinators from GradSWE.
Bhuvan is pursuing a degree in chemical engineering with a focus on bio research. Her favorite part of hosting outreach is making STEM more accessible to young people.
“Science can be very intimidating,” Bhuvan said. “I think it’s fun for the kids to see that science is being creative; it’s not just numbers.”
Anthea Spirko, a subcommittee member for GradSWE outreach, became involved with the group through a recommendation of her older lab mate. As a first-year graduate student studying mechanical engineering with a background in biomedical engineering, she wanted to curate experiences celebrating the same love for science she had as a kid.
“Seeing that joy on their face when they see an experiment for the first time,” Spirko said. “That had a lasting impact on me when I went to these types of events for a kid, and I like being able to carry that on.”
Next month, the library will be hosting another STEM event with REACT, a University volunteering program through the Department of Chemistry.
