The STEM Club is an initiative started by Aniket Srinivasan (IB2), Suriyan Prabhu (IB2), and me, Madhav Menon (IB1)! It acts as a continuation of the Astronomy Club which was run by Venu (a student from the class of 2022) and Madhav Menon (IB1).
As part of the STEM club, we wanted to expand the scope of what we cover given that astronomy tends to be very niche, with few people interested in it. Therefore, we’ve expanded to cover other physics, chemistry, and maths areas. Over the past few sessions, a group of about seven enthusiastic high-school students gather to discuss various topics from how best bridges can be built to maximize durability and ensure the sustainability of economic resources, how maths can be used in cryptography to protect sensitive information, and how atoms are not as simple as they seem and get very weird when you look at them more closely.
The STEM club does not only approach the topics through lecture-based sessions but tries and makes it as interactive as possible. For example, we took what we learned about the physics behind bridges and tried to make our own bridges using popsicle sticks. We then tested out each bridge with various loads to see which was the most durable bridge that used the least amount of sticks. The STEM club is still young and we have a long way to go, the three of us hope that we can expand our club even further by going on field trips, hosting guest speakers, and continuing to learn as always!
