2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Creation of a Mobile Science and Engineering Road Show for Texas A&M University at Qatar: Multicultural STEM Education and Entertainment (Resource Exchange)

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 12: Resource Exchange

While active learning environments within pre-college have become increasingly common, the impact and novelty of the science demonstration cannot be overlooked. For many students, the spectacle of a well-presented science demo, full of gratuitous sparkle and showmanship, is the catalyst that creates initial interest in chemistry, physics, and engineering. Demonstrations can never supplant active learning or cumulative lessons, but they can act as reinforcement in situations where hands-on learning is still in its infancy. The educational systems of Qatar have undergone radical changes in the past twenty years with a rapidly expanding population, influx of international school systems, and an increased focus on teacher training and modern pedagogical ideas. But many of Qatar’s students, for a variety of reasons, had no exposure to classroom demonstrations or laboratory experiments to be able to witness scientific phenomena.
Texas A&M University at Qatar created the Science and Engineering Road Show to mediate these issues. Based upon the successful Chemistry Road Show and the Physics Festival at Texas A&M University in College Station, USA, the Road Show has performed demonstrations since 2017, traveling across Qatar reaching out to over 25,000 students. A wide variety of topics related to chemistry, physics, and engineering are discovered using audience participation and eye-catching approaches. As part of the Road Show, comprehensive risk assessments, safety and language surveys, and infrastructure methods were created and instituted. Obstacles such as language barriers, gender separation, and cultural differences were resolved via discussions and planning with multiple stakeholders across schools, ministries, and corporate sponsors. The Road Show has become a national institution; invited to schools, public events, and festivals to educate and entertain Qatar children and families. Details regarding the preparation, planning, safety aspects, and organizational structure of such a mobile demonstration platform are included in this paper as a model for others to start their own local road show.

Authors

Mr. G. Benjamin Cieslinski Texas A&M University at Qatar [biography]

A resourceful science professional with expertise in STEM fields, science communication, laboratory safety, program management, and chemistry, Benjamin Cieslinski manages the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) laboratories for Texas A&M University at Qatar's Office of Advancement. He designs and performs demonstrations of science and engineering to local schools via the Science and Engineering Road Show mobile lab and creates programs for local youth to educate and entertain with hands-on projects to challenge students' engineering and science skills.
Tala Katbeh http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-0088-0752 Texas A&M University at Qatar [biography]

Tala Katbeh is a STEM Instructor and Program Coordinator at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) where she applies her enthusiasm for engineering to create curricula and engineering courses for school students. Katbeh is currently also pursuing her PhD at Texas A&M University, having graduated from TAMUQ with a BSc and MSc both in chemical engineering.
Hassan Said Bazzi Texas A&M University at Qatar [biography]

Dr. Hassan S. Bazzi is the senior associate dean for research and advancement and professor of chemistry at Texas A&M University at Qatar, a branch campus of Texas A&M University. Dr. Bazzi is also professor of materials science & engineering at Texas A&M University. Dr. Bazzi received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry and organic chemistry, respectively, from the American University of Beirut (1996 and 1998), and his Ph.D. in polymer chemistry with Dean’s Honor List from McGill University (2003). He worked briefly with the United Nations as a chemical weapons inspector in Iraq before doing a postdoctoral research fellowship at Université de Montréal. He joined Texas A&M at Qatar as assistant professor in 2004, was promoted to associate professor (2009), and then to full professor (2014). Dr. Bazzi completed the Management Development Program (June 2014) and the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (June 2018) at Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

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