Roman Technology - All STEM Leads to Rome 2

A few years ago before Covid, my #RomanTechnology students got accepted to present as makers at the local Mini Maker Faire. These faires celebrate creativity in making cool stuff - mini-crochet characters, homemade robots, weaving, homemade pickles, etc. We thought others would enjoy learning how to make concrete, and wow, DID they! We guided nearly 500 visitors in making tiny cups of ancient Roman concrete (labeled with an advertisement, "Study Roman Technology at Glasgow Middle School!") My students had a blast teaching others what they had learned in class, and we realized that we were offering "classics outreach," or promoting classical studies to the general public.

When the Louisiana Department of Education named me its 2021 State Teacher of the Year and I couldn't offer in-person events due to the Covid shutdowns, I dreamed up an online event called "All STEM Leads to Rome." Over 200 kids from all over the world (some in England and Romania) signed up to participate in a Roman Technology workshop with me. I got funding from the American Classical League to mail them tiny kits so they could make along with me. Excellence Through Classics, a committee of the ACL, partnered with me to assist with an online presentation platform, and we built tiny catapults, made a game, and wrote with squid ink on papyrus. The kids had a great time and asked me when the next one was going to happen.

Soon after, I developed a wonderful relationship with the Louisiana Art and Science Museum. For many years, I had taken my students on field trips here to view their Ptolemaic Egyptian Gallery which contains Roman artifacts. The education director invited me to host a classical STEM event in their huge lobby on one of their "Free First Sundays." I immediately reached out to the Classical Association of the Middle West and South to acquire outreach funding. CAMWS's outreach funding committee quickly approved my request (as they always do because they are set up to be nimble and so helpful), and I got busy planning our first "All STEM Leads to Rome: Classics Day at the Museum." 

Nearly 50 students from my school, Glasgow Middle, and another local school, Baton Rouge Magnet High School, volunteered to run the stations. It was a joy to work with one high school student in particular, Marwan Mikdadi, whose passion for outreach and STEM is unmatched. With the pandemic still a force to be reckoned with, we didn't know what to expect, but when the doors to the museum opened, we were flooded with visitors. All told we ended up with 701 participants! The museum immediately asked us if we would repeat the event the following year.

Flash forward to this past spring, and we are now in the books with "All STEM Leads to Rome 2: Classical Chemistry and Engineering." We were sponsored by BASF, the international chemical company with a local plant in our city of Baton Rouge. Frequent sponsors of free Sundays and chemistry workshops for kids at the museum, they paid for the free admission for the "Free First Sunday" event (about $6000), and the Society for Classical Studies, another classics organization, paid for our activity supplies and t-shirts ($1000) with an Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities grant. With a nod to our sponsor, we focused on chemistry and engineering from the classical world.

Here's a breakdown of what we did:

Greeting Station We had friendly students dressed up in Roman tunics and togas to welcome visitors and tell them how the event was set up. Each visitor received a "passport" with an explanation of each station to keep them on track. Those who returned the passport completely stamped were entered in a drawing to win a pyramid block building set.

In addition the the passport, visitors also received a small bag labeled with our Roman Technology logo to put collected items into.

Station 1: Mini Scorpions Visitors built this tiny scorpion out of large popsicle sticks, tape, and rubber bands. Then, they tried out their catapult model by firing cotton swabs at a small tower of cups.

Station 2: Arches Student leaders guided visitors in building a Roman arch with this building kit. We had taped off the floor in large squares so that block kits stayed in each square and didn't wander off to random spots on the floor.

Station 3: Bridges After contemplating what Julius Caesar's bridge over the Rhine may have looked like,  visitors attempted to recreate it using large popsicle sticks and rubber bands with a plastic container acting as the river. Once built, the strength of the bridges was tested by placing a 5-pount weight on it. You can see the anticipation in this young builder's eyes as her bridge is tested!

These next two stations focused on chemistry as a thanks to our sponsor, BASF.

Station 4: Concrete My students had just studied concrete in the context of their #RomanRoadProject so they were raring to teach this lesson to visitors. Each participant had to wear eye goggles to handle the lime mortar which added to the mystique of this station. Visitors were so excited to take home their very own container of Roman concrete.

Station 5: Oak Gall Ink Visitors learned how this ink was made from the tannin of oak galls made by tiny wasps, and then tried out writing ancient Roman cursive with that ink and a simple stylus on papryus paper. Last year, we used squid ink which was much smellier, but oak gall ink has its own iron scent too.

As I wander around during the event, I'm constantly stopped by adults who want to know who our students are and where their kids can go to learn this content. One of the best things about this event is that I do nothing during it except take pictures. Students handle all visitor questions and work with young children and adults to complete the activities.

This year, my students and I partnered with the Junior Classical League from the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts in Natchitoches, LA. After a brief online training with me getting them ready for the event, their wonderful Latin teacher, Dr. Morris Tichenor, drove them to the museum to spend the afternoon with us. They had clearly soaked up much of his knowledge of epigraphy. They were thrilled to be with us, and I hope this partnership lasts! In addition, we had a few stellar students from St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge - they had assisted us with the #RomanRoadProject and were excited to join us.

Overall, we ended the day with almost 675 visitors, but to be fair, we were competing against the National Women's College Basketball Championship game. Baton Rouge's own LSU Tigers were competing so we think most people were understandably watching the game. Partnering with this local museum, allowing students to take the lead, has made for a wonderful annual classics in STEM outreach event. The museum has already asked us for All STEM Leads to Rome 3 for next spring, and we plan to be there!