Stanford Spokes
Stanford Spokes is a yearly student-led initiative where a team of 6-7 Stanford students bike across the US, teaching STEAM workshops in small towns along the way. I was lucky to be a part of the 2022 Spokes team. We began in San Francisco, and ended in Washington, D.C. 70+ days later.
(Photo: In the desert of Nevada, along the “Loneliest Road in America”)
My lesson was centered on teaching scientific inquiry and prototyping through water rockets. I aimed to give my students a taste of the research mindset I have come to enjoy so much. I gave them a question they didn’t have an answer to: how can they improve the water rocket? They created a hypothesis, theorizing that some modification in design will create a change in rocket performance. Then, they experimented, launching the rocket to test their hypothesis. They observed the experiment, and decided what they would do with the results. I hope, by giving the students a taste of hands-on scientific inquiry, I inspired them to see how they are capable of pursuing exciting science. Biking across the country to teach these students showed them how much I valued getting to work with them. They’d ask, “You biked all the way across the country to teach us?” to which I resoundingly answered, “Yes!”
