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Pollinator Habitat Garden as an Outdoor Classroom

Establishing a Monarch Butterfly Way Station for Data Collection

Our organization, STEMS on the VINES/KC Creators Clubs, has been awarded a grant. The Captain Planet Foundation gave in-kind donations including standards-based lesson plans, seeds for students to germinate at home, trowels, a wagon to transport garden materials, child-sized aprons and gloves. Another pending grant award is from the Missouri Department of Conservation to purchase live native plants that Monarch butterflies need to nourish and grow on. We have three main objectives for this garden project:

1. Establish a Monarch butterfly certified way station.

2. Plant a habitat garden for school students as an outdoor classroom.

3. Use this as a model to create additional urban habitat gardens.

The garden will be an outdoor learning center for our KC Creators STEM Club and the surrounding neighborhoods. All grade levels will use the garden to support curriculum. STEM Club students will construct a solar-powered water fountain to nourish butterflies in the habitat. Materials for this will be donated by STEMS on the VINES/KC Creators Clubs. We also hope to have students use CAD to design a hummingbird feeder to be created on a 3D printer. A parent volunteer has donated a rain barrel for use in this habitat garden.

Experiential learning at the garden will demonstrate the importance of habitat, biodiversity, pollinators and the native plants’ roles in healthy ecosystems. The garden will be for citizen science as students collect data for research projects related to Monarch butterflies and other pollinators attracted to the garden.

The KC Creators STEM Club students associated with our organization will have the opportunity for data collection to contribute to a university Monarch conservation research study. Students will use the SEEK mobile app by iNaturalist to earn badges while learning to identify native plant species.

Imani Malaika-MehtaOctober 9, 2018Comment

FEATURED EVENTS

Tuskegee Airmen and STEMS on the VINES

A Partnership in Preserving the Legacy

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A CHILD'S FASCINATION WITH FLIGHT

The best way to explore the physics of flight is by flying! Our annual field trip to iFly indoor skydiving allows students to experience the effects of wind in the most personal and relevant way. We take an interdisciplinary approach to STEM. Students will learn the engineering of wind tunnels and the aerodynamics of skydiving. Calculating the time it takes to travel, altitudes and velocity shows how math is used to obtain very useful information.

A SHORTAGE OF PILOTS IN THE FUTURE

1992 - 90% of pilots hired in 1992 had military backgrounds
2008 - Only 28% of pilots had military backgrounds
51.6 is the average age of an American Airlines pilot
83 American Airlines pilots are under 40 years of age
560 American Airlines pilots are over 60 years of age
Fewer pilots are certified to meet the demand

PRESERVING THE LEGACY

“Helping Youth Fulfil Their Promise” was this year’s theme of the recently concluded Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. (TAI) national convention. It’s National Youth Academy provided opportunities to enjoy hands-on interaction, behind the scenes exposure, in-depth discussions and a planned introductory training flight, all of which tied directly to the mission and goals of TAI objectives. Participants gained an appreciation of the story and lessons of America’s first Black military aviators, the legendary Tuskegee Airmen and their legacy of determination, education, perseverance and patience as necessary skills in achieving success in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

In 2016, the local Kansas City TAI chapter began developing a similarly supportive relationship with STEMS on the VINES/KC Creators Clubs. We see this as an appropriate path to help expand an awareness of the impact and contributions of lesser-known pioneering minority aviators on international history. Our joint venture will expand an awareness of the vast opportunities in the field of aviation and careers in the aerospace industry. STEMS provides a platform for meeting today’s youth in a stimulating arena where a formula for yesterday’s successes may be explored as a roadmap for their positive futures.

ENCOURAGING GIRLS TO BE PILOTS

Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart and Rosie the Riveter are iconic American heroes. We need to let our girls know these important roles in history. Beyond this, women can and must find their space to help fashion the future of aviation. We must give our young ladies many experiences with flight, physics, astrophysics, air traffic control terminology, programming and aeronautic engineering.

PROGRAMMING: A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE NASA SPACE MISSIONS

The film "Hidden Figures" documents the critical role of women of color in programming the trajectory of NASA space flights. Our Board member Dr. Mozilla Dyer was instrumental in configuring the specifications for NASA space suits that astronauts wore. She is a tremendous role model for all of our STEMS students.

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