AspireED teaches at the Canal Alliance Fair
AspireED was one of 30 organizations exhibiting at the Canal Alliance Fair this past weekend. The Canal Alliance, a San Rafael-based social services nonprofit supporting Latino immigrant families, hosts a community fair highlighting local resources each year.
AspireED student teachers Alyssa Huang, Kimberly De Leon, and Riley Gu engaged the youngest attendees, ages 3-15 years old, with six hands-on science activities: live butterfly lifecycle exhibit, a live ant colony exhibit, mini rockets, pot-your-own plant, observing brine shrimp under a microscope, and making UV-sensitive bead bracelets. They also distributed 150 free STEM kits to kids ; the kits were designed by Alyssa and contain 5 at-home science experiments with instructions in both English and Spanish.
Other booths at the fair celebrated local Latino-owned small businesses, entrepreneurs, and more. Attendees were invited to explore 30 organizations, which included Kaiser, CalTrans, Cool the Earth, Marin County Parks, Marsh Restoration Project, Voces del Canal, The Canal Arts, and others.
"We tailor our lessons to each child's age and development level," said Alyssa. "For example, we'll go over the parts of a plant with a kindergartener, sunlight + water + CO2 --> sugar and oxygen with a 4th grader, and chlorophyll and chloroplasts with a 6th grader." "But regardless of age, the goal is to get the kids asking questions and learning by doing - potting their own bean sprouts and observing the growth in real time on their own."
It was a beautiful, sunny day filled with delicious food, music, and exciting activities. What a wonderful way to bring the community together, engage young minds, and spark curiosity!
