The Catalyst Club is a student-led organization at King High School, which is dedicated to sharing scientific and technological innovations to middle school students. Middle school is an important time for students to explore their passions, and the Catalyst Club shows them how fun and important Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related jobs are.
The club is headed by junior Aaryan Sharma, and currently has four members. Nusheen Immen is the Director of Outreach and Communication, Jon Karthaka is the Content Director, and Ansh Bhatt is the Vice President. These four students work together to organize and put on STEM presentations.
The presentations are designed to be engaging and relatable. “By showing application in the real world, we think it solidifies their understanding of it,” said Sharma. For example, in one recent presentation, Oobleck, which is a gel-like substance, was used to imitate the way liquid armor can protect things. An egg was placed in the Oobleck, and it did not break when it was dropped. This allowed Sharma and the others to explain the nuances of liquid armor, which is used to protect electronic screens, to a young audience.
One of the reasons the club was started was to reach an audience who may not be interested in STEM, and to get them interested. “We want to target a younger audience so we can plant a seed in them,” said Immen.
The Catalyst Club has laid out a two-fold mission for the future. One goal is to reach more places in the community. They have already spoken at several middle schools and at Girl Scouts events and they hope to reach as broad an area as possible.
Their second goal is to expand the club itself. They are hoping that more high school students will become involved and start chapters of the Catalyst Club at their own schools. Forms can be found for inviting the Catalyst Club for a presentation at a school or organization, and for starting a chapter at another high school on the website at http://catalystclub.tk
The Catalyst Club can be contacted through email at kingcatalystclub@gmail.com, or through the website.
