The construct of place was a foundational consideration in our selection of STEM activity themes. We worked with our fellows to select local/regional ecological, geologic, historic, economic, and cultural elements to use the familiar as the starting point for STEM learning. We think this is an essential entry point for student engagement. We showcase the landslide phenomenon in the video as an example. Another big one was acid mine drainage and reclamation efforts that are still ongoing in the Little Cities of Black Diamonds in SE OHIO. A third consideration was focused on meaningful ways to integrate computational thinking into informal events. In terms of format, we wanted the first event to be more structured as an initial clinical experience for the fellows. We thought a STEM camp, part of the summer school programming at a partnering school, would provide this environment and create a synergistic and bidirectional opportunity for learning - our future teachers and middle school students. After COVID imposed interruptions, we will be offering a STEM camp again this year. For the subsequent events, we wanted to build on both our success with informal events at local schools and the success of OVMoD's in the community to expand participation and promote fellow's knowledge of the people in our community. We did not target the same group of kids for all three events. 

Thank you. I will check the Thinkery Connect video now!

Our fellows have learned a lot about how local places and events are bridges to STEM learning and engagement, not barriers. Becoming familiar with the community, families and students, and places (even university ones) promoted their cultural competence as well as their thinking about how to design relevant and cognitively engaging learning experiences. The different formats of the events gave the fellows insights into student ideas across the lifespan. At the second and third event, the fellows interacted with children and adults of all ages. This was valuable because it allowed them to see the strengths their "students" brought and gave them opportunities to be flexible in the examples, representations, and explanations they used.