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Moving to South Florida means trading snow shovels for sunshine, and for most newcomers, that is a trade worth making. But there is one feature…
Every other Thursday, the Lory Student Center fills with young voices, the whirring of lab equipment and a collaborative exploration of science.  
Run by the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering, the STEM 4 Kids program holds free biweekly events running from 4:30-6:30 p.m. for fourth through eighth grade students interested in learning more about science. 
“STEM is definitely a very intimidating, scary and hard subject for a lot of kids, and it deters them away from pursuing those careers, and so our goal is just to make it more transparent and fun,” STEM 4 Kids President Sienna Arellano said. 
STEM 4 Kids co-founder Dylan Scheller, an instructor for CSU’s Common First Year Engineering Program, said he initially felt that intimidation toward STEM.
In 2006, Scheller began his engineering pathway at LeTourneau University, but after feeling like he wasn’t capable of being successful in the the field, he instead graduated with a kinesiology degree. In 2013, Scheller decided to pursue another degree at University of Oklahoma, where, he said, his struggles in math classes prompted him to take a break from education. 
While visiting Fort Collins in 2021, Scheller decided to take a look at CSU and submitted a second-degree application. 
During his time at CSU, he said he thrived as a mechanical engineering major, even joining the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. STEM 4 Kids originated as an outreach idea for the society, but after a few events, it became an independent student organization at the start of the spring semester in 2022. 
“That outreach is giving (kids) that space to explore their curiosity, but also to just feel confident in themselves when it comes to science and math, and to know that they can do it,” Scheller said. “They are smart enough.” 
Since its founding, STEM 4 Kids has continued to thrive, and it collaborates with other CSU science organizations and departments for events. 
“We’ve brought in a multitude of different clubs,” Arellano said. “That’s kind of our goal, to not just focus on engineering, because, although we’re under the College of Engineering, our focus is to get every facet (of STEM).”
Each event begins with a presentation on that week’s topic. From there, hands-on learning is split into two parts: an interactive activity and an analysis on what was learned. 
The program’s first event of the year on Sept. 24 followed the topic of water samples and ecology. Students were given a short presentation regarding how water samples relate to the Colorado ecosystem, then they headed outside to create their own take-home ecosystems. Afterward, each student was given a chance to analyze what they had gathered under a microscope. 
“We have so much access to resources that elementary schools don’t because we’re an institution,” STEM 4 Kids officer Sophia Jaskolka-Brown said. “I honestly think that the biggest impact is that they get to do things that a lot of other kids don’t get to do, and that also allows them to feel more confident and engaged in class and realize that there are applications of the things that they learn.” 
The program does not only impact the program participants but the volunteers as well. CSU students are able to earn volunteer hours and learn skills — such as budgeting and event coordination — through STEM 4 Kids, regardless of their field of study. 
In the future, the officers hope to expand the program’s influence with more events, outreach to younger elementary students and increased funding. 
“It’s important to let kids figure out their interests earlier, and this gives them the opportunity to be involved in some really cool things that a lot of kids don’t have access to,” Jaskolka-Brown said. “It allows them to figure out that there is a purpose behind school and figure out that there’s a path for them in this world.”
Reach Lilly Vollmar at science@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.


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