9 My work: Sneaker Culture and STEAM Education/Outreach

However, incorporating the use of hip-hop culture and fashion within chemistry has not yet been explored. By using sneaker culture, I intend to use a culturally relevant topic to engage my audience, which is also something that impacts people daily. Although this intended project can benefit and expose the public and all students to scientific concepts, this research is specially designed to encourage PEERs to pursue the STEAM sciences utilizing storytelling and making connections to hip hop culture fashion and chemistry concepts.

More specifically, it will emphasize the chemistry found within the various polymers and materials they are exposed to within the fashion industry and their sneakers. The impacts of storytelling and relating technical material to culturally relevant topics have been shown to be impactful, especially amongst a PEERs audience ¹⁷. Through this project, STEAM foundational knowledge can be explored and introduced through a new topic theme.

I anticipate that these activities will not only increase interest in STEAM education but also educate and engage the public on Materials chemistry. Therefore, I designed a series of engaging, culturally relevant, hands-on STEAM activities, based on the STEM Activities in the Clothing and Textiles Project Area¹⁸ curriculum created by Dr. Sue Byrd from The University of Tennessee. I was inspired by her work and creative ability to include lesson plans, STEM activities, and a variety of assessments that can be used for a variety of audiences.