A Big Island group is working to inspire and build STEM career readiness in Hawaii youth through community education.
NexTech Hawaii is an organization dedicated to connecting keiki across Hawaii Island to fun, high-impact science, technology, engineering and math experiences and mentorship opportunities.
Through the generosity of partnerships and plenty of volunteers, kids can attend extracurricular workshops and competitions designed to inspire real world problem solving.
Earlier this month, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, and their parents or guardians, attended an “Intro to Engineering” workshop at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, where they learned about aviation and other career paths.
“We have found that with students at this age, it’s great for parents to come and see them have that ‘wow’ moment,” said Founder and Vice President Gail Takaki. “They can support their kids better, learn the language of engineering and share that with their kids.”
Brittany Zimmerman is a volunteer with NexTech and helped develop activities for kids to raise their confidence and to learn about STEM for the first time. She brings her experience as an engineer and now as CEO of sustainability company Yummet to help teach and influence kids who are interested in STEM.
“My background is in aerospace engineering, and I worked on several innovations for NASA. Then I had an existential shift to focusing on sustainability,” Zimmerman said. “Being in Hawaii for the last year, I’ve seen one of the biggest needs is in education. It became an easy decision to start volunteering with Gail, who is doing such great work.”
Isaiah Nakano brought his daughter, Zoie, to the workshop to enjoy the day together and to introduce her to STEM.
“She’s so smart all around, and we wanted to do something hands-on where we can both learn something and have fun with it,” Isaiah Nakano said. “She wants to get into robotics at her school next year, so we thought this would be a good segue to that.”
Zoie and other keiki spent the day experimenting with aviation using straw launchers and built bridges out of straws the next day.
On Saturday, five students participated in NexTech’s “Manu! Not Mosquitos,” which was a one day STEM-intensive workshop for Hawaii Island high school students. They spent the day learning about Hawaiian bird conservation and how to support critically endangered birds through studying mosquitoes in Hawaii.
NexTech STEM Camps and Exploration Days are offered multiple times a year and evolve as new project ideas, and the team develops lessons for students of all ages.
“We want kids to ask questions, communicate, listen and break their own boundaries,” Takaki said. “I’ve always wanted to present education in a different format after my own experiences. We focus on teaching relevant concepts through things like games, which ultimately helps them retain information in their heads, but also their hands.”
This week, the Waiakea High Robotics Team is hosting Nextech’s “Intro to Engineering” camp through it’s Hawaii Island Robotics Academy.
Throughout the week, the robotics team will guide over 30 third- through sixth-graders through a program where they will experience STEM through vex robotics, sumo robots and other lessons.
More camps and workshops will be available for students at the beginning of the school year.
Once a year, NexTech hosts the FishTank Design Competition where 10 teams of students identify local sustainability problems and develop solutions.
Partcipants can talk with experts in several relevant topics such as, engineering design, problem solving and presentation skills throughout the development of the project. The competition is a culmination of 11 weeks of work.
This year’s finals competition was held on March 4, when students pitched their ideas to a panel of judges.
A team of Ka‘u girls — Ellianna Seaver, Kiran Seaver and Luka Doherty — won the first place prize of $3,500 after pitching a comprehensive emergency alert system, which included optimization of Civil Defense sirens and processes and a web-based solution for centralized emergency response data.
The idea came after the girls learned that many Ocean View residents did not get alerted when Mauna Loa began erupting last year.
“This is so ideal, because they get to choose and define what their problem statement is and then develop possible solutions through research, which is an engineering process,” Takaki said. “FishTank helps develop their abilities to work in a team and their individual skills while teaching the science of problem solving.”
Takaki hopes to increase the number of teams that participate in the signature event.
On Wednesday, Aug. 2, NexTech is planning a lunch with professional engineers in East Hawaii to celebrate Professional Engineering Day. Students will be able to have one-on-one time with engineers of all types to learn more about their careers.
“Recently, an engineering firm relayed to us that they are having a hard time hiring engineers, which was a first for us,” Takaki said. “While young children may not be solution for tomorrow, they will be one day. We want to continue generating interest and inspiring kids to look at different career paths, so they can learn how they can affect change in the world.”
NexTech programming, upcoming events and camps, and a contact form can be found on the website nextechhawaii.org.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.