Wells International Foundation's Future Innovators Career Exploration Table a Success at the Children's Museum of Houston

HOUSTON, Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wells International Foundation (WIF) is pleased to announce the success of its Future Innovators Career Exploration Table, the organization's first dedicated STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education initiative.

WIF partnered with the Children's Museum of Houston to bring Future Innovators to scores of museum visitors on Saturday, September 29.  WIF volunteer Kaylan Young conceived the event to give elementary and middle school children an opportunity to assess their academic abilities in association with their creative interests.  It was financially supported by a grant from Dow Chemical Texas Dollars for Doers.

Young selected simple, yet challenging activities that children and parents could experience together.  At the "egg drop" station, kids were tasked with creating a cushion from flour, cornflakes, and cotton balls that would prevent an egg from cracking when dropped.  The "foil float" station required them to construct a foil boat and see how many pennies the boat would hold before capsizing.  At the "edible structures" station, children enjoyed assembling houses, pyramids, and other edifices from toothpicks and marshmallows, gumdrops, Sour Patch Kids, and Gummi Bears.

At the painting station, children had the opportunity to express their creativity artistically.  They read a document that described numerous STEAM careers and then painted or drew their ideas about the professions to which they were exposed or their conception of a profession they already had in mind for themselves.

At the end of their visit, they had the opportunity to be photographed with their artwork or the edible structure that they created.

In conjunction with Future Innovators activities, the museum arranged to prominently display several books with STEAM themes in its Parent Resource Library.

Several teachHouston volunteer students from the University of Houston participated in the event.  They manned the activity stations, encouraged the children's thoughtful consideration of the tasks at hand, and congratulated them on their efforts.  teachHouston is open to undergraduate mathematics and science majors interested in secondary STEM teaching or who want to expand their professional skills.

Dr. Monique Y. Wells, WIF's founder and CEO, had the following to say about the event:

I am happy and grateful that our Dow Chemical Dollars for Doers grant funded the "maiden voyage" of the Future Innovators Career Exploration Table and that the event went so well.  teachHouston's participation was an invaluable part of our success.  The Children's Museum of Houston is an excellent partner and we look forward to organizing many future events there.

Access the online photo gallery for Future Innovators here: http://www.wellsinternationalfoundation.org/future-innovators-photos/

About the Wells International Foundation
The Wells International Foundation (WIF) is a U. S. non-profit organization whose mission is to empower women and persons of African descent to realize their highest potential through arts, literacy, study abroad, and other educational and cultural programs. We are building a network of global citizens who embrace inclusiveness and foster a spirit of cooperation throughout the world.

Contact:
Deborah Harlow
(415) 305-2747
E-mail: [email protected]
http://wellsinternationalfoundation.org

SOURCE Wells International Foundation

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