Dr. Tracy Fanara

INSIGHTS

Dr. Tracy Fanara, NOAA

STEM TODAY: Could you talk a little bit about the Inspector Planet reels and how you're incorporating education with adventure, discovery and having a lot of fun?

Tracy Fanara:To me, discovery is a lot of fun all on its own. Then you add an adventure, and it's like, why wouldn't you pursue this kind of career? When I was little, I was really into Goonies and Indiana Jones. Being a scientist is basically taking that concept of investigation and finding the unknown, solving mysteries and bringing it to real-life situations where you can actually help people. Right now, on Instagram, I'm taking earth mysteries and looking at it from different perspectives, biology, chemistry, and astrophysics. With different perspectives you can see something crazy or strange in the world and make sense of it.

ST: What do you feel are the crucial ages at which girls need to be reached and engaged so they will get committed to a STEM track?

TF: Definitely middle-school age. I taught seventh grade science as part of my dissertation funding, and I realized how important that age group is. Although I believe that STEM is important at any age, if it wasn't for my mom telling me how smart I was from sixth grade on and how good at math and science I was, who knows if I would have actually been good at it?

ST: When did you first realize you were interested in the STEM fields?

TF: I loved animals. And animals were the gateway science into STEM because I started thinking I didn't

PHOTO CREDIT: Tracy Fanara by University of Florida

want to be a vet, even though that changed, and I did want to be, for many years. So, to be a vet you must learn STEM. As I started to get a little bit older, I was influenced by natural and manmade disasters throughout my area that I grew up (near Buffalo, New York). I started realizing that water really impacted those animals and we needed to provide clean water and protect them from storms and things like that. And that's when I started getting into the hydrologic aspect of how the world works and earth system design.

ST: Can you tell us a little bit about how you've used Seekers of Science to educate and engage young people in the STEM world?

TF: Seekers of Science is just such a good opportunity after we talk to a group or do an experiment with a group or have the kid’s camp. It's something that they can take home and keep going with STEM. It's also a way to reach kids we couldn’t reach because they weren’t in the classrooms. There are so many people making efforts towards STEM and it's really important that everybody is pitching into these mass efforts. Seekers of Science is just one way that we're trying to make a contribution, while also making it easier for parents to continue STEM education at home.

ST: Could you talk a little bit about some of the summer programs that NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) does to promote STEM to younger people?

TF: NOAA has an entire educational office that focuses on bringing STEM into the classroom. They have build-abuoy programs, different events that have students from around the country come into the nation’s capital or into the headquarters of NOAA. They have science fairs and bring your child to work day or friend to work day. NOAA does a bunch of stuff. They also provide internship programs. So many great things. — E.J.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

“You're going to have the confidence. You're not going to question yourself or say, ‘I can't do it.’”

As Fanara said, the responsibility of fostering such interests lies not just in the hands of educators, but also with parents. Whether it’s visiting museums, space camps, nature walks, or coding camps, there are countless ways to help one’s child hang on to those budding interests.

Another struggle at that age is that you find yourself competing with everything from friends to media images to hormones — and they’re all pulling in the opposite direction. Managing to keep even a portion of that interest is a struggle for any parent and any child.

But the long-term rewards are vast.

GIRLS OFTEN THINK THERE ISN’T ENOUGH VARIETY IN SCIENCES

Another reason girls sometimes stray from various STEM pathways is the belief that there aren’t a lot of career paths within the STEM fields. While most picture someone in a lab donning a white coat or a computer programmer, the possibilities go far deeper. Jill Mullan, COO, co-founder and director of iSpecimen, is a prime example of someone who pushed through that “There is so much opportunity age and rose to the top of her profession. in STEM, it's a great long-term “There is so much opportunity career that you can do a lot of in STEM, it's a great long-term career that you can do a lot of different things.” different things,” said Mullan. “I use myself as an example and I use my mother as an example. She was an