The STEAM Fair logo

General Information

the STEAM Fair primarily engaged our youth in Indianapolis to complete projects in STEAM related fields to compete for the first, second, and third place prizes. The theme was Black Scientists, Engineers, and Inventors in History. My vision for this program was for the students to select a famous black scientist, engineer, and/or inventor and re-create a science project based off of a contribution that they have made to society (e.g. Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light. Students could recreate a traffic signal using an Arduino microcontroller and a few LEDs and describe its impact on society).

STEAM Fair Date, Time, & Location

  • Saturday, April 20, 2019 from 10:00am-2:00pm
  • Tindley Collegiate Academy - 4010 N. Sherman Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46205

During the Fall of 2017, I was initiated into the first inter-collegiate fraternity for African-American men, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. As a 2-year member of the Fraternity, I have had the opportunity to enhance my leadership qualities through service, mentorship, community development, and scholarship. One particular leadership experience that I gained through the Fraternity was starting the inaugural Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Fair in Indianapolis. The Fair was held on Saturday, April 20, 2019 at Tindley Collegiate Academy in Indianapolis, IN. The goal of the Fair is to “encourage underrepresented minority students in the Indianapolis community to explore STEAM concepts through an experiment- or research-based presentation.” Leading this service initiative taught me a lot about myself, leading others, and how to create a better STEAM Fair for next year.

Official flyer for the Indianapolis STEAM Fair

The chairperson of a committee is the one that coordinates the activities of their followers, and communicates status updates and other important information to the committee. I felt a sense of purpose working with the STEAM Fair committee; watching as the students that participated in the Fair talked about their projects and demonstrated their knowledge made me realize how much they needed an opportunity like this. One student’s guardian even emailed me after the Fair to say, “I can’t begin to tell you what a confidence booster this was for him. He finally had a chance to discuss his interest in understanding the dynamics of aviation disasters.” The Fair concluded with five STEAM winners who were awarded with medallions, prizes, and media recognition (https://tinyurl.com/vqjrzp4).

The STEAM Fair had many benefits, but it also bore several learning experiences for me to consider for next year. Although our community turnout was great for this inaugural event, I would have liked to see more monetary sponsorship. One of my goals for next year is to present a cash prize to the overall winner of the event, and eventually a scholarship for a student to pursue a STEAM degree at a minority serving institution. Moreover, my leadership experiences have had a positive impact on many and empower diverse students in STEAM.