‘Dancing Corn’? VCU’s hands-on fun connects STEM to Richmond middle-schoolers

By Sian Wilkerson

At the front of a temporary classroom in the STEM Building’s Math Exchange space, Virginia Commonwealth University student Sollina Abraham asked for volunteers. One by one, several middle-schoolers – Abraham’s students for the moment – approached a table at the center of the room where three jars filled with water and popcorn kernels sat. To get the experiment flowing, the young volunteers were directed to add baking soda, vinegar and food coloring to each container.

“It’s like a little volcano,” said Abraham, a third-year chemistry major, as each mixture bubbled to a froth. And slowly, one by one, the kernels began to rise.

The experiment – appropriately termed “Dancing Corn” – was part of a presentation by the American Chemical Society’s VCU chapter, one of several sessions in a half-day celebration promoting the study of math.

Last Friday, Oct. 16, Sonya Kovalevsky Day – named after the first woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics – brought 80 middle-schoolers from Richmond Public Schools to VCU for hands-on activities and presentations led by students and faculty. Topics included biomathematics, statistics, science, engineering and architecture, with the young visitors free to choose the sessions they found most interesting.

SK Day was organized by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, part of VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences, and the university’s student chapter of the Association of Women in Mathematics. Similar events to honor Kovalevsky, a 19th-century Russian mathematician, have been organized by AWM college chapters around the country for more than 20 years.

The event is an opportunity “to ignite a young woman’s mathematical curiosity, empowering her to discover and embrace the excitement of learning mathematics,” said Kristina Anthony, Ph.D., a teaching associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. “It is a chance to build a community of learners not only across middle schools but also across the different STEM disciplines.”

Abraham, who serves as co-president of VCU’s ACS chapter, was joined by club co-president Delia Hunt and members Chloe Sartwell and Senya James for a presentation highlighting the intersection of chemistry and math. During another activity, they added drops of food coloring to petri dishes filled with glue to demonstrate surface tension.

The middle school students observed that each drop kept its shape. Next, they were given toothpicks, which they dipped into soap and then poked into the drops of food coloring, watching as the chemical reaction caused the colors to begin to leach outward.

This type of STEM outreach is one of Abraham’s favorite aspects of the chemistry club: “I want to inspire young kids to pursue STEM,” she said, noting that these interactive educational moments can have a lasting impact as they get older.

The VCU students know how important engagement can be for younger learners discovering science and math for the first time.

James, a third-year chemistry major, said her love of science was sparked at age 15 during a family trip to France, when her mom surprised the family with a tour of a perfume factory. James was hooked: “As soon as I went there, I knew chemistry was for me.”

It’s especially important, she said, to highlight that STEM is applicable to more than just careers in medicine, engineering or higher education.

“There’s so much you can do with science,” James said. “Science is all around.”

Hunt, a third-year interdisciplinary science major, cited the ongoing influence of her own inspirational science and chemistry teachers. Now, as she works toward a career in the medical field, she wants to pass that passion to the next generation.

“I love finding ways to connect with people where they’re at. People in my life have been able to do that for me, and I want to be able to give back,” Hunt said. “Young people have so many ideas, and so much passion and energy. They bring a fresh perspective, and it’s so important to have people who aren’t afraid to think outside the box, who are open to new ways of doing things.”

Sartwell, a third-year biology major pursuing a minor in chemistry, said one of the biggest lessons of SK Day was for students not to limit themselves.

“You can achieve your dreams,” she said. “You can be whatever you want to be.”