Welcome to UNM SWE’s Outreach Page!

UNM SWE’s outreach branch is dedicated to giving back to our community with K-12 outreach programs. We collaborate with UNM and local organizations to bring engineering outreach to communities across New Mexico.   On this page you can find information about our outreach events along with fun activities and resources!

Want to collaborate? Email us at sweunm@unm.edu!

The Art of Science

Our largest outreach event, The Art of Science, is an all-day, free event designed to help middle-school-aged girls discover their inner artist through scientific exploration, and to empower them in pursuing an interest in STEM.  This year’s Art of Science event was held on Saturday, February 8th, 2020 and was attended by 81 girls aging from 9 to 14 years old:

The day was packed with fun science and art activities. In an “escape the room” style activity, the girls used civil, electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineering skills to survive a zombie apocalypse. They explored electrical engineering by making squishy play-doh circuits and explored nuclear engineering by creating a radioactive orchestra using molecules and learning about x-rays! The girls also spoke with women engineers and scientists who shared their own unique experiences in STEM, while their very own lab coat!  See below for photos of the event!

If you’re interested in learning more about The Art of Science and receiving updates about our 2021 event and how to register, join our Art of Science email list!

Recent Accomplishments by Women in STEM

​October 2019 – First all women spacewalk!

May 2019 – Katie Bouman assembles first ever photograph of a black hole

March 2019 – Karen Uhlenbeck is the first women to receive in Abel Prize (a Nobel-level honor awarded by the King of Norway) for her work in geometric analysis

From a February 2019 National Science Foundation Infobrief– In 2017, 35% of Doctorate holders in STEM were women, compared to 23% in 1997
​
December 2018 – Professor Donna Strickland is the first woman in 55 years to win the Nobel Prize for Physics

4 Easy and Fun Ways to Learn to Code!

With these free online resources, you’ll be a master-coder in no time!

https://www.madewithcode.com

Made with Code is an awesome free website where you can learn the basics of coding. Use coding to design your own emojis, compose music, design fashionable outfits, and so much more! You can also watch videos about women coders and their crazy cool coding projects under the “Mentors” tab!

 

http://studio.code.org/courses

Code.org is another free website where you can learn to code! You can work through free online courses geared toward you grade level, or do a shorter “Hour of Code” activity. You’ll learn how to use code to program games, make art, and so much more!

 

https://codecombat.com

Code Combat is a free online computer game – that teaches you how to code! Your coding skills will improve with each level!

 

https://glitch.com

Glitch is another online code editor that is very similar to Mozilla Thimble! You can see what cools apps other users have made, and (as you become more advanced in coding) remix these and make your own.

 

BONUS! Check out this website which has computer science terms along with links to more websites where you can learn to code!
​www.mapcon.com/us-en/computer-science-coding-vocabulary-terms

Three Fun Activities to Do at Home!

Homemade Music: The Science of Sound

Materials

• 4-6 Glasses (approx. the same size and shape)
• Water
• Food coloring (optional)
• Small spoon

 

​Instructions:
Fill each glass with water in differing amounts. Ex: glass 1 might be ¾ full while glass 2 is ½ full etc. Arrange glasses in order from most to least water. Add food coloring to the glasses to create a colorful xylophone. Using a spoon, gently tap the sides on the glasses and note the sounds each make.

Things to think about:

• Do the glasses sound different or the same?
• How do the glasses with less water sound in comparison to the glasses with more water?
• If you fill a less filled glass with more water does the sound change?

What’s going on?
When you tap on the glasses you are creating vibrations (sound waves) which travel through the glass and the water. The more water there is the more the sound waves can travel. But what does this have to do with the different sounds you hear when you tap the glasses? Well, glasses with more water make deeper sounds because there is more room for larger vibrations. Glasses with less water make higher sounds because their vibrations/ frequencies are small. If you think sound waves are interesting and want to even learn more visit: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/X59/science-of-sound.html

Invisible Ink and Oxidation

​Materials:

• Lemon Juice
• Water
• Paper
• Paintbrush
• Heat source: such as a lamp, stove burner, or lighter

 ! Make sure heat sources are used only under parental supervision !

Instructions:
​Add a small amount of water to your lemon juice to dilute it (approx. 1 tbsp of water for about ¼ cup lemon juice). Dip paint brush in lemon juice and write out your secret message on the paper. Let the lemon juice dry. Once your message is dry ask an adult to help you reveal the message with a heat source. Hover your heat source over your paper until your secret message appears! Be sure to turn off any heat source once you are finished!
For some extra fun try using milk, diluted soda, and vinegar as ink as well. Which one works?

What’s going on?
​An Oxidation reaction is one where electrons are transferred between the species in the reaction. Sometimes oxidation causes things to change color. For example, when a penny turns green that is a form of oxidation. As the lemon juice on the paper is heated, carbon is released to the surface and an oxidation reaction occurs with the carbon. When this happens, the carbon turns a brown color and your message is revealed!

Surface Tension Rainbow Explosion

Materials:                                                            

• Milk
• Red, yellow, green, and blue food dye
• Dish soap or oil
• A plate
•  Optional: Watercolor or cardstock paper

 

Instructions:
Carefully pour enough milk to cover your plate. Put in drops of the food dyes in the milk, in any arrangement. Add in a drop of the soap or oil anywhere in the milk. Record your observations.
For some extra fun cut out some watercolor or cardstock paper and put it on top of the colorful milk. Gently take it out to dry, and enjoy your masterpiece.

Things to think about:

• What happens to the food dye as the soap is added in?  If more soap or oil is added in, does anything happen? Why or why not?
• If a different type of liquid other than milk was used, would anything change?
• Compounds such as dish soap and oil that lower the surface tension of water are known as surfactants. Is there anything else you can find that does the same thing?

Check out These Exceptional Women in STEM!

Kimberly Bryant
1967-
Bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt

In 2011, Kimberly founded “Black Girls Code,” a foundation that focuses on teaching computer programming basics to underrepresented young women. African-American women make up less than 3% of the tech industries work force, but Kimberly is fighting to change that. As of 2019, her program had trained 3,000 young women in the U.S. and South Africa. She turned down a $125,000 donation from Uber in 2017 following allegations of sexual assault. In 2013, she was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for Tech Inclusion.

https://www.nsbp.org/nsbp-news/bhm-physics-profiles/2019-honorees/129-kimberly-bryan

Esther Conwell
1922-2014
Bachelors and master’s in physics from Brooklyn College; Ph.D. in atomic physics from University of Chicago

​Esther received a Ph.D. in Atomic Physics from University of Chicago at a time when only 6 women in the entire US held a Ph.D. in physics. Her research areas included electrical properties of semiconductors, electro-optics, and movement of electrons in DNA. The Conwell-Weisskopf equation, which describes the mobility of electrons in a semiconductor, was partially named after for her master’s thesis. She worked with Nobel Prize winners including Enrico Fermi and Yan Chandrasekhar. After taking a job at Western Electric in the early 1950s, she was told there was no payroll classification for a woman in her position, and her job was classified under a title that significantly cut her salary. Understandably, she spent much of her life advocating for women in STEM and earned a place in Discover magazine as one of the 50 most important women in science.

http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V65N3/feature3.html

Anne Aaron
1976-
Bachelor’s in physics and computer engineering from Ateno de Manila University
Masters; Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford

​Anne is the director of video algorithms at Netflix. She is responsible for the recommended content, which accounts for a huge percentage of Netflix traffic. Business insider named her as one the most powerful female engineers in 2017 and she was on Forbe’s America’s Top 50 Women in Tech 2018. She emphasizes the importance of male allies within the tech industry and states that developing an inclusive work environment is the responsibility of both women and men.

https://onthedotwoman.com/woman/anne-aaronhttps://www.wonderwomeninstreaming.com/wonderwomeninstreaming/anne-aaron

Evelyn Cortez-Davis
1969-
Bachelor’s in environmental engineering and water resources from UCLA

E​velyn is a first-generation immigrant from El Salvador and is the first person in her family to graduate from college. She currently serves in Los Angeles as the Assistant Director of the Water Resources Division. She leads the team that plans the water distribution system for the 4 million residents of Los Angeles. Evelyn has expanded efforts in capturing stormwater, conserving water, and using recycled water and groundwater. She chose her career to ensure that people had access to clean water and strives to protect the environment while doing so. She helped found the K-12 outreach program for the University of California, Los Angeles’ chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. In 2006, she received UCLA’s Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity Advocacy Award.

https://www.ladwpnews.com/in-focus-e344444_velyn-cortez-davis-assistant-director-of-water-resources/

https://alltogether.swe.org/2019/06/women-engineers-you-should-know-2/

What do you want to be when you grow up?

https://www.careergirls.org/ 

Career Girls is an awesome website where you can explore all of the things you can be when you grow up! You can search jobs and topics you are interested in, and even take a career quiz to learn about careers you would be great at! The extra cool thing about this website is that each career has videos of women role-models talking about what they do and why they love that job!

Here are a few of our favorite Career Girls videos on why you should consider becoming an engineer!

1. Emily Potter, a Systems Engineer, talks about the many careers available to engineers! https://youtu.be/b-8dr9Uy0h0
2. Susana Tapia Harper, a Chemical Engineer at NASA, talks about how she uses engineering to make a difference! https://youtu.be/1zSXgTdWNWc
3. Tonya Noble, a Software Engineer, talks about all of the cool things she has done with engineering! https://youtu.be/tINTjaaOiR4

Other Awesome Outreach Resources

Consider participating, volunteering, or donating to these inspiring organizations!

Million Women Mentors
https://www.millionwomenmentors.com/home-mwm

Vision: “…To spark the interest and confidence in women and girls to pursue STEM careers in leadership opportunities through the power of mentoring.”

TechnoloCHICAS
https://technolochicas.org/

Purpose: “…To raise awareness among young Latinas and their families about opportunities and careers in technology.”

Black Girls Code
https://www.blackgirlscode.com/about-bgc.html

Vision: “To increase the number of women of color in the digital space by empowering girls of color ages 7-17 to become innovators in the STEM field, leaders in their communities, and builders of their own future through exposure to computer science and technology.”

Perry Initiative Program
https://perryinitiative.org/im-a-high-school-student/

Mission: “…Inspiring young women to be leaders in the fields of orthopedic surgery and engineering, two fields in which women are drastically underrepresented.”