I am taking lessons learned from my time as an instructor in camps with me into the fall.

For the past two summers I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with children. This summer I worked with SCI-FI Science Camps as a science instructor, teaching kids in grades K-9 about the fabulous world of science.

SCI-FI runs weeklong STEM camps for grade 1 to grade 9 kids during the months of July and August. During the school year a variety of clubs for those same age groups take place. Girls coding and high school engineering clubs are free of charge! Camps and clubs are based out of the engineering building. In the months of May and June, SCI-FI instructors also do hour-long workshops in schools on conducting science activities and engineering projects.  

While I spent my summer instructing kindergarten students about the different parts of a plant and teaching grade 7 students how to code a space shooter game, I will take into the fall the lessons these kids and my coworkers taught me.

One bright sunny day during a workshop on the science behind how objects fly, my partner and I noticed that we didn’t have one of the key components needed to do the activity. By this point the kids had already started their engineering builds. To make matters worse, my partner and I were scheduled to do this exact same workshop again right after completing it with this set. With no way of getting this crucial component, my partner and I looked at each other with panic. Oh boy.

But after some problem solving was done, a new idea came to fruition. One of the important components of being a good instructor is your ability to adapt. There are a million things that can go wrong, and it just might not work out, but you have to be able to be flexible and adapt the activities to meet the current needs of the situation. That is exactly what my partner and I did. My partner came up with another idea of how the kids could perform that step of the activity, while still understanding the mechanics of those basic engineering and science concepts.

Now, you may be wondering what the response to this change was from these kids. Did they revolt? Did they burst into tears?

Well, the answer is none of the above. They listened to our renewed instructions and dove right back into building. They spent all their focus, energy and time into the activity. Not trying to poke holes into this rapidly created new activity, when I am sure there were. Instead of getting frustrated and upset with the change, they put their minds together and did the best job they could with the time they had. 

I take this lesson in stride. In my years in university there are many instances that resemble my own situation with that workshop. From assignments being posted with mistakes, a realization that only happened after spending hours on the assignment, to new classroom technology causing heightened stress. How often have many of us complained about how many assignments, quizzes, essays, midterms—don’t even get me started on discussion posts—we have to complete. As your fellow student, I fully empathize with these emotions. I understand how upsetting and taxing on your mental health it can be. 

However, this semester I am committed to trying a new avenue and shifting my focus, energy and time in doing the best job I can with the time that I have. We can and should feel all our emotions, but we should refrain from letting them consume the remainder of our time and energy on completing the task.

I have greatly enjoyed sharing my passion for science with kids this summer and I am so excited to continue learning, not only from my professors but also from our next generation of scientists.