Opening young eyes to the careers of tomorrow

Seventh-graders at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Port Washington were treated to a series of special lessons taught in a converted shipping container turned science lab parked outside school Monday.

All eight science classes that day were held in the MiliporeSigma Curiosity Cube, which was parked in front of the school, giving students lessons in artificial intelligence.

The goal was twofold — to spark curiosity in students and expose them to career pathways they may not have otherwise imagined, Audra DeMariano, Curiosity Cub coordinator, said.

“We want to introduce students to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs in their community. We want to spark curiosity in next-generation scientists,” she said. “They might see themselves in one of the scientists here.”

The Curiosity Cube, which is traveling to 25 communities in North America this year, is staffed by scientists with MiliporeSigma, a company whose work focuses on scientific discovery, biomanufacturing and testing services.

In Wisconsin, the company has facilities in Sheboygan, Milwaukee, Madison and Verona.

Each year, the Curiosity Cube activities follow a different theme, DeMariano said. This year, it’s AI. Last year, it was sustainability and the previous year contamination.

The students rotated through the cube, doing three activities.

One station taught them how to tell a real image from one created by AI, and another showed how AI learns, using a game to illustrate the chore. The third station involved learning how self-driving vehicles navigate.

The sounds of laughter and excited chatter filled the air as students took part in the activities.

“Our goal is to make these activities fun, engaging and hands-on,” DeMariano said.

That was happening, science teacher Carissa Hynes said.

“The kids have been loving it all day,” she said. “This will help students gain an understanding of what AI does. This is something that’s obviously needed — it’s something that has become an integral part of what’s happening in our world.”

And, she said, the activities offered bridge the world between theory and real life experience.

For example, as students examined one photo to determine if it was real or generated by AI, they were taught to look at the details.

One student noted that the woman pictured had little expression, and another said her hands looked odd.

“She does have five fingers but she also has a toe,” the instructor noted.

As the students learned about ways AI learns, DeMariano noted, they saw that even AI makes mistakes and learns from them.

“We’re teaching them that the magnificent way they learn is what inspired scientists to create AI,” she said. “They learn from their mistakes. They get to see mistakes reimagined.”

And that, she said, is important.

“I feel like if I had something like this when I was a student, I would have been more confident in picking this field,” DeMariano said.

And opening their minds to new career choices is a big part of the Curiosity Cube, Hynes said.

“We’re trying to get them thinking like scientists,” she said. “These kids — they’re laser focused.”

School counselor Christin Johnson agreed, saying this year’s pilot program is something the school hoped to repeat in the future.

“This is such an exciting way for students to apply their science knowledge and skills and explore a potential career pathway,” she said.

DeMariano said there are benefits for students and the scientists who volunteer their time to staff the Curiosity Cube.

“It’s so rewarding when they head back to their classrooms and we hear them say, ‘I want to be a scientist someday’ or ‘That was so fun,” she said.

“We do it for those reactions.”