The College of Science and Technology and NBME hosted their first Back-to-School Fair celebrating STEMM—science, technology, engineering, math and medicine—with hands-on activities and demonstrations for young students.

On Saturday, Aug. 29, the College of Science and Technology (CST) opened its doors to local teachers, students and their families for a Back-to-School STEMM Fair to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine.

The event, which was co-hosted by NBME, featured hands-on STEMM activities and demonstrations, backpack and school supplies giveaways, laptop and iPad raffles, and free food for those in attendance.  

CST’s new STEMM bus, an innovative mobile laboratory that will bring science education to local schools, also made an appearance at the fair. 

The event served as a kickoff for a new partnership between CST and NBME, a Philadelphia-based organization that offers assessments for evaluating physicians and medical professionals. The partnership aims to introduce young students to STEMM concepts and encourage their interest in these fields.  

“We put our heads together to develop a strategic way to connect with schools,” said Susan Varnum, senior associate dean of undergraduate affairs, science education and community engagement at CST. “We realized that we have to do what the teachers need, not what we think they should do.” 

The partnership developed what they’re calling a Teacher Collaborative, in which six local teachers worked with CST and NBME to develop curriculum that utilizes the STEMM bus. Participating teachers attended workshops throughout the summer to create activities and lesson plans that they will use in the upcoming school year when the STEMM bus visits their schools. 

“Physicians take NBME exams and part of that is how they become licensed to practice. So our organization is interested in the pathways—how do we make sure that there are equal opportunities in the community for anybody who’s aspiring to be a physician to become a physician,” said Adrienne Austin, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at NBME.    

“There are a lot of roadblocks, particularly in communities where schools are underfunded, students are underserved, and there are shortages when it comes to science and math teachers,” she continued. “We really wanted to tackle that and partner with Temple University to think through how we can support STEMM education in our local community.” 

More than 200 people representing 33 local schools attended the fair, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and featured more than a dozen hands-on STEMM activities. One activity, called Save-A-Scientist, brought a fun spin to the classic egg drop engineering activity.  

Students also dissected owl pellets, and created their own primitive robot using circuits, motors, toothbrush heads and CDs in an activity called Build-A-Bot. 

“The students love Build-A-Bot because it allows them to accessibly engineer something,” said John Kim, a 2025 graduate from CST who now teaches sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade science at Philadelphia Academy Charter School. Kim is also participating in the Teacher Collaborative. 

“There’s a desperate need to bring more hands-on learning, especially with science, to kids,” said Kim, who graduated with a general science with teaching degree. “This program is imperative for our students, so that they have a much more in-depth experience and feel more inspired and confident in the subject.”  

Every student who came to the fair received a free backpack provided by NBME, with support from employee volunteers who helped prepare school supplies ahead of the event. Event organizers also raffled off laptops and iPads throughout the day. 

“I joined the Teacher Collaborative because I wanted to work alongside educators with more experience,” said Riley Keenan, a 2026 graduate of CST who also graduated with a general science with teaching degree.  

Keenan, who now teaches science and math at St. Teresa of Calcutta School, developed a lesson plan involving the STEMM bus in which students will test water samples collected from local creeks before and after running the samples through a homemade filtration system.  

“I really like the collaborative’s mission of bringing lab supplies and hands-on learning out to areas that might not have as much of that,” Keenan said.  

The STEMM bus’ unveiling was years in the making and would not have been possible without the support of Michael Klein, former dean of CST, and George Kenney, assistant vice president of government affairs at Temple. 

It will hit the road this school year and bring innovative science lessons to Universal Creighton Charter School, Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School, String Theory Charter School, Philadelphia Academy Charter School and St. Teresa of Calcutta School.