BrainPOP attends the Science Online Teen Unconference in New York City
Posted by Andrew Gardner on
On Saturday, our own Maia Weinstock represented BrainPOP at the inaugural Science Online Teen unconference in New York City. An offshoot of the popular Science Online held each year in North Carolina, the event’s aim was to get New York-area teens thinking and talking about STEM education, STEM careers, and the ways in which STEM topics are communicated online.
The day started out with a rousing keynote speech by Hilary Mason, chief scientist at bit.ly and co-founder of HackNY. Mason discussed how certain well-respected scientists of the past questioned established facts of the day, and how technology has become an incredibly disruptive force within just about every facet of society, especially within the past decade. She challenged the future leaders in the audience to re-think what they know about how the Internet is shaping the future of science, information, technology, and journalism.
Next up were interactive sessions and workshops led by teens and professionals in a number of STEM-related fields. Maia led a panel discussion on women in STEM, and participated as well in an excellent session on educational science video games led by 18-year-old Erik Martin. Additional sessions covered a slew of intriguing topics, from “The future of how we learn” to “Computer science as a liberal art” to “Creating science scribes” to “Twitter for teens and teachers.”
Thanks to the Science Online Teen organizers for inviting us to be a part of this wonderful day!
