Step by step, day by day, a fresh start over, a different hand to play

I just got back from an event called the STEP/CSTEP Day of Service at Edison Tech High School (STEP stands for Science and Technology Entry Program, which is for high school students; add on a "C" and it's a program for college students). The purpose of the day was to expose students to a variety of STEM fields through demos and hands-on activities. Edison is split up into multiple schools, and my audience consisted of students from the Business and Imaging & Information Technology school. I had 35 minutes with each of 3 groups which varied in size from about 12-30 students (that's a rough estimate, I didn't actually count). First I told the students a little about myself and about Imaging Science, and then we got into demos with the thermal camera:

So... what temperature should an ice cube be???

This girl came into class complaining about feeling sick and having a fever. Here: scientific PROOF!

I usually post pictures of the garbage bag trick; this time, check out my glass trick...

SPOOKY HAND

I had a really positive time and was quite impressed with the students I interacted with today. There were a number of bright young minds that I hope will pursue an education and/or career in some STEM field (though let's be honest, really I hope to have piqued their interest specifically in Imaging Science!). There are many challenges for Rochester City School students, but there are also so so SO many opportunities for them, which I hope I helped open their eyes to today (like the Rochester City Scholars program which allows city high school students with an annual household income <$60k go to RIT tuition-free). I also strongly encouraged them all to continue with science and math courses throughout high school, because they are so important for getting into college. I hope that I helped these students feel motivated and inspired to work hard and be successful, because I got the impression from many of them that they have great potential.