Kids at Saugus High School explored different career options through hands-on experience during the S.T.R.E.A.M Kid’s Expo on Saturday.
A wide variety of companies, organizations and schools such as Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Energy Plus Solar and more brought out cool gizmos to educate and entice kids to pursue a career in their field.
All of this was organized by 15-year-old Niamani Knight of Saugus High School.
“I just noticed that a lot of my piers weren’t as interested and I wanted to create something that included and attracted all students,” she said.
From that idea, the Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Manufacturing (S.T.R.E.A.M) Kid’s Expo was born.
S.T.E.M is a common curriculum found in schools and Knight has expanded upon that with art and reading so she could include any interest a student might have as well as help bring kids up to speed in reading.
Eleven-year-old Dean Kessler is one such kid who enjoyed exploring all the technology the expo had to offer. He wants to be a dancer or actor when he grows up but that didn’t stop him from checking out the engineering side of life.
He says his favorite part of the expo was controlling the robots that the Saugus High School engineering program brought.
“I’ve always checked out all the robot books,” he said. “Now I’m able to actually see them.”
The kid’s expo was not all that was going on Saturday at Saugus High School though.
Knight also organized a Parent Café where parents, students, employers and educators could listen to guest lectures to learn how to better support their child with whatever career they choose to pursue. Topics included kid’s mental health, paying for college, brand identity and more.
Bill Bolde, the principal at Saugus High School, is extremely impressed with Knight, whose vision is years beyond other people her age.
“We’re just happy to play a small part in the dream that Niamani Knight has brought forward to us” he said.
