WED-027 - Promoting Health Equity Through Hands-on STEM Education: The Young Scholars Program

Brief Abstract Summary: Gain insight into how an innovative partnership between an academic cancer center and a children's museum can advance public health STEM education and engagement among medically-underserved youth. This session presents findings from a community-based program that introduced >400 elementary school students from Title I schools in the Washington, DC region to cancer biology and prevention concepts through a curriculum infused with hands-on, bio-tinkering activities. On post-program evaluations, students overwhelmingly reported practicing the roles of scientists and engineers, demonstrated knowledge of key cancer concepts, and expressed strong interest and belonging in STEM. Learn how this program promotes feelings of inclusion among young underserved students, fosters STEM identity, and offers an approach to diversifying the future health and science workforce.

Detailed abstract description: Strengthening the pipeline of students from medically-underserved communities into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers is a critical strategy to address persistent cancer health disparities. This presentation describes the outcomes of a community-based science education program designed to help cultivate early interest in cancer biology and prevention among elementary school students from Title I schools in the Washington, DC metro area and enhance their STEM identities.

Across the 2024-2025 school years, N=432 5th-graders (from 48% female, 35% African American, and 53% Latine schools) participated in a day-long, cancer-focused curriculum delivered at a local children’s STEM museum in partnership with an NIH/NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. Students rotated through bio-tinkering activities covering environmental health and cancer risk, ultraviolet radiation exposure and skin cancer, cell biology, and immunology. Outcome assessments included self-reported scales of cancer knowledge, STEM identity, maker learning attributes, and interest in STEM careers.

On the post-program evaluation, students overwhelmingly demonstrated their acquired knowledge, as most correctly answered key concept questions relating to cancer prevention (88%), and cancer biology, and immunology (91% and 96%, respectively). Additionally, students’ maker learning attributes (i.e., internal characteristics relating to their perseverance, imagination, initiative, exploration, reflection, teamwork, and perspective-taking), feelings of belonging in STEM (i.e., having a greater recognition of their capabilities as future scientists or engineers), and STEM interest (e.g., affinity for science, building/engineering, inventing, and math) were high (90%, 92%, and 81%, respectively; 88% overall). In school-wide race- and -ethnicity adjusted ANCOVA models among a subset of N=184 students with matched data, those who reported that they behaved like a scientist/engineer during the program exhibited stronger maker learning attributes (F=16.19, p< 0.001), feelings of belonging in STEM (F=9.65, p< 0.05), and STEM interest (F=4.75, p< 0.03).

For SOPHE attendees, this session provides practical insight into how early, community-based public health education initiatives can foster knowledge, confidence, and STEM identity among children from medically-underserved backgrounds. Participants will learn how partnerships between academic cancer centers and community organizations can be leveraged to promote health equity and inclusion at an early age.

By attending this session, participants will recognize the value of embedding public health and prevention education into early STEM pipelines, discover actionable strategies for developing and sustaining community partnerships, and appreciate the broader implications of educating medically-underserved youth in health-related STEM learning for building a more diverse and prepared public health workforce.