To encourage a love of STEM both inside and outside the classroom, The Chattanooga Moms for Social Justice will host a STEM Story Hour event in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Chattanooga, Pure Genius, and Barnes & Noble at Hamilton Place on Sunday from 3-5 p.m. at the Jewish Federation of Chattanooga.
With a growing need for qualified individuals in the STEM fields, there has been a recent surge of children’s books meant to encourage young people, especially girls to explore the world around them through STEM, said organizers. One such example is the Loves Science PB series including Cece Loves Science, Cece Loves Science and Adventure and Cece Loves Science I Can Read - Push adn Pull. Shelli R. Johannes is the co-author of these children’s books and will be visiting Chattanooga for this event.
“My daughter always loved science," said Ms. Johannes. "And when she was 10, I asked if she wanted to go to science camp. This was the first year she said 'no'. When I asked her why, she said 'Because science is for boys and it isn’t fun anymore.' That made me question, what message are we sending our girls about science. She went to camp but it sparked the idea for a series that encouraged girls to love science and reminded kids that science isn’t a subject studied in school, it’s everywhere and it’s fun!”
The Chattanooga Moms for Social Justice agree and feel that bringing Ms. Johannes here for a free community story hour will be a way to inspire local children and encourage a love for the STEM subjects.
Ms. Johannes will be reading two books at the event and there will be a science-themed activity presented by Pure Genius. Attendees will also have the option to purchase signed copies of Ms. Johannes’s books from Barnes & Noble on-site.
The Chattanooga Moms for Social Justice strive to make all of their community events free and accessible. There will be an ASL interpreter as well as a Spanish-language interpreter at the event.