My 5th Grade Scientist Pen Pal
Margo is extremely excited about having a scientist pen pal. And her scientist is excited about having a 5th grade pre-scientist as a pen pal. I know this because it’s me.
Thanks to my own scientist kiddo I was introduced to the non-profit organization, Letters to Pre-Scientist. And I am jacked!
From their website:
Letters to a Pre-Scientist connects students to STEM professionals through snail mail to broaden students ’ awareness of what STEM professionals look like and do at work and inspire all students to explore a future in STEM.
We work with fifth to tenth grade student “pre-scientists” in US low-income communities. Each student is matched with a different STEM professional; many students get paired with someone who does not fit their stereotypical image of a scientist. The pairs exchange eight letters during a school year and discuss higher education pathways, STEM career journeys, and overcoming obstacles.
And this week, I received the profile of my 5th grade pre-scientist.
Name: Margo
Grade: 5th
Location: California
Favorite STEM Topics: the human body, the brain, oceans, plants, space, weather, energy, animals, human behavior, & computers.
Hobbies: Cooking, Drawing, Listening to music, playing a musical instrument, board/card games, playing and watching sports, video games, riding her bike, singing, acting, dancing, taking pictures, spending time outdoors.
From not at all excited to extremely excited about STEM, your pen pal is currently: Extremely excited
Margo sounds like a very interesting young lady. I plan to share about the body system respiration as it supports speech articulation and neurology as it encompasses the brain and language skills. I’m going to include some brain stickers I found to send with my letter and most importantly, my message that she can accomplish anything, her goal should be to dream as big as she can, education is her ticket to an exciting future, and if she feels she’s starting out without much she’s perfectly poised to have nothing to lose.
I also chose to donate a few dollars to support the organization. Stamps aren’t free after all. I plan to share what I learn about Margo this year here in my journal so stay tuned. As a side note, although I’m the scientist and she’s the student, I’m fairly confident I’ll be the one with the most to learn. What science dreams does this generation have? What do 5th graders in this classroom believe they need to study? And how can current scientists reach out to encourage the next scientist along?
