International STEM Day celebrated by Philly students in immersive, interactive programs

Philly students discover STEM through interactive experience

A high school in Philadelphia is celebrating International STEM Day in a very unique way, from a robot dog, to virtual reality in medicine, students were exposed to all of it and inspiring the next generation.

EAST GERMANTOWN - Students at Imhotep Institute Charter High School had an immersive International STEM Day celebration on Friday.

This year, The Director of STEM, Shirley Posey, and her student STEM Ambassadors focused the theme on "The Future of AI and Robotics."

The presentation kicked off with a robotic dog named "Jiggy" that delighted students by performing simple commands such as waving, jumping and even dancing.

Posey explained this emerging technology is being used in innovative ways to support operations in the military and law enforcement, among other uses to move society forward.

"I wanted to make STEM real. I wanted to breathe life into textbooks and show them why chemistry, biology, our story and history is so important, because it’s really what’s going to project our world forward and make it a cleaner and safer place," said Posey. "AI has to be programmed by a human. It learns from a human, so that is why culture and inclusion is so important."

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Posey told students AI is becoming a trillion-dollar industry, and it has a major gap in Black representation. She hopes the interactive experience leads to interest and diversity in the field that can help improve people’s lives.

"It goes to show the opportunity that’s here, not just like the working aspects and scholarships that might be here, but just the fun to allow us to be kids," said Yusuf Harris, Lead Engineer of the STEM Ambassador program.

"STEM Day to me is very important because it represents, number one, my self-worth as a person. It made me realize, like, what I can do and it’s so important in the world that people know what STEM is, because it’s used literally everywhere," said Nori Farmer, STEM Leads Ambassador.

The school’s 600 students had the chance to rotate through various stations. They included the Jefferson Healthcare booth, exposing students to virtual reality in medicine, an AI flight simulator training pilots, a Hydroponics station using AI to grow food, the VXR Experience inspiring people’s imagination and creativity and, finally, the Glambot which is widely used in the entertainment industry.

"Regarding STEM, I could just see myself doing it for the rest of my life," said Harris.