"It's been so much like packed into a
few days." "I didn't expect to meet all the
scientists and hear about their great
experiences."
"You really got a chance to be like, 'Oh
scientists are people too, like I can be
them', it's a really empowering experience."
This is "S-Cubed", a revolutionary new
program from the Sitka Sound Science
Center and University of Alaska
Southeast that gives students an
immersive and unforgettable STEM
experience. For three days each fall
undergraduate students from across the
country travel to Alaska to take part in
a unique science symposium called Sitka
WhaleFest that prioritizes fun like
never before. Our first goal is to
connect students with professional
scientists and WhaleFest brought some
of the top researchers in the world for
lectures that are fun and informative
every day. "This is my first science
symposium. I love that they make
presentations very approachable and
accessible even non-scientists." "One
lecture that stuck out to me was the sea
horse sea dragon one. It's really
interesting because they're finding new
species and that's kind of something
that I'm into."
"Ralph, Lamprey Man—yeah, his little
lamprey wrap was really cool."
[speaker: "There's a lot of similarities between babies and lampreys; they're both nocturnal."]
"A lot of humor, a lot colloquialisms, so I was like, 'This is really neat.'" For many
that would be enough, but S-Cubed takes
the connection beyond the podium. "At some
point in time there were tropical
walruses." Offering students exclusive
one-on-one discussion where questions
about career, methodology, lifestyle,
funding, and so much more are discussed. "I got
to meet Dr. Rachel Lauer and she is the
first geophysicist I've ever met and I
want to be a geophysicist; it was really
special to get some time with her and
talk about her research." Step two is to
connect students with each other. S-Cubed's mentor/mentee program pairs upper- and
lower-classmen from a diverse mix of
universities. "I feel like it's kind of more
of an intimate way to experience this
festival and it's been really cool to
meet students from other universities
and kind of learn about how they relate
to this whole marine biology-themed
festival. "We have the mentor/mentee
program going on, so I've been really
close with my mentee—we did the
scavenger hunt together and we were
running all around town..." And finally,
S-Cubed participants immerse themselves in
hands-on workshops where students
experience science in action. "I did have
fun."
"The dissection of the fish—oh man, as soon as I
sliced the ventral side, a whole bunch of
eggs came out and it was so awesome."
"I thought the workshops were gonna be
more of just like them lecturing us on
what they're doing but we actually
got to do their research."
All of this is wrapped into a week of
unforgettable fun. "The boat trip was
amazing. When we first got on the water
and we saw probably a good 20 whales."
Including whale watching, fun runs,
banquets, scavenger hunts, and more.
Connecting students to each other, their
community, and the scientific community
abroad. Join us for this transformational
experience next year and connect
students to STEM like never before.
"I've opened my eyes a little bit more
looking into the research part." "Maybe the
most fun part for me is like all the
networking opportunities that I've
gotten to have like being able to meet
with professors at the university that
I'm going to go to, being able to just
talk to the researchers like they're
regular people."
"So, first I wanted to be a teacher, then I
wanted to be working for the Department
of Natural Resources, and after coming
here and listening to all the research
that the scientists do here, I really
want to go into research." "WhaleFest is
absolutely for everybody; I think that
anybody regardless of what they want to
study could come and take something away."
 
