HIGHLIGHTING EMPOWER PLACE: VIEWS FROM AMERICORPS LEADER KRISTIAN STIPE

EmPower Place is a hands-on family learning center that brings together science exhibits, University of Montana role models, library books, activities, and free snacks. Located at Missoula Food Bank, EmPower Place is a collective impact effort by spectrUM, Missoula Food Bank, and Missoula Public Library. EmPower Place is powered by the City of Missoula, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

We strive to educate and encourage critical thinking in all activities we do, whether it is for science or for art. We have activities scheduled almost every day of the week. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays we have our after-school programing called the After-School Clubhouse, which includes a cooking class, a game day, and a science making & tinkering day.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, the Missoula Public Library hosts its Tiny Tales programming in our space in the morning. Tiny Tales is a program where a library employee will sit down and read children’s books and sing songs that the kids love. On Fridays we have a different guided art project where kids can explore the ideas ranging from what a water shed is, to making valentines cards for refugees living in Missoula.

Monday Cooking:

Every Monday afternoon we have our after-school club house where we have a cooking class. One day this month we made fruit sculptures held together by caramel and tooth picks. Pictured here is FruitBot 9001, a robot with the mission to destroy hunger.Each week we get to learn new cooking techniques, practical skills, and how to be effective and safe in a kitchen.

Science Tuesday:

Every week at EmPower we spend our Tuesday morning learning about a new science topic by doing a variety of activities. Each month we have a theme, and February’s theme was Love Our Neighbors. This month we had hygiene, neurons and brains, and blood typing and hearts.

Hygiene: First you must take care of yourself: Learn how to wash your hands with GloGerm, brush your teeth and wash dishes. GloGerm can show you how well you wash your hands, by showing spots you missed under a black light. We can also see any spots we missed when brushing our teeth and the importance of flossing by seeing our green ‘food’ on the teeth.

Making & Tinkering Thursdays:

On Thursdays our After-school Clubhouse hosts a spectrUM discovery area Making & Tinkering activity. One day this month we made a giant cardboard castle using no scissors or tape. It even had a functional draw bridge to cross our moat.

These weekly science/making & tinkering activities really make the kids think outside the box and problem solve a whole host of potential problems that can come up in science. The activates usually include a team work component so that everyone can work together to solve the problem at hand. We have made giant soccer balls out of straws, hoverboards, and bouncy rockets this month, in addition to the card board castle.

Our after-school program at EmPower Place is starting to take off and we are seeing more kids every single day. Starting in April I EmPower staff will be taking over the control of cooking classes from the food bank, where we will have an even more personal touch with that programming. I am excited to see how the program evolves and ready for any changes that might be included with that.

BEGINNING MY SERVICE

Hi everyone! My name is Margaret and I am the new senior AmeriCorps Leader located in the Montana Campus Compact office. I just started at the beginning of September.  I am a Montana girl. I grew up in Cascade and was already in Missoula when I began my AmeriCorps application process. I graduated from The University of Montana in 2014 with a degree in Marketing, Management and a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. I love hiking, running and backpacking with my adventure dog Keta, she is a rescue from Alaska. I love a great cup of coffee and am an avid coffee-making-contraption collector. I love to travel near and far. Finally, I love that AmeriCorps is my next adventure!

Montana Campus Compact:
My service has just only begun and so far it is off to a brilliant start. I work in the main headquarters of the Montana Campus Compact office located in the heart of the University of Montana. I love it! My position is new to the Compact, and my days are full of learning new things. My days are filled with looking for the right candidates for the leader positions around our beautiful state of Montana. I am constantly in contact with candidates, answering questions about positions and helping them learn about the great opportunities we are offering. One of my favorite parts so far is talking to the AMAZING people that apply for AmeriCorps. What an astounding group of individuals willing to be a part of something bigger than themselves. It has been a rewarding experience to chat with people from across the country that are willing to make Montana their home for this upcoming year.

SpectrUM:
Beyond the office work my direct service portion is working for SpectrUM Discovery Area. It is a local children’s museum located in Missoula. My service has only begun but my time at SpectrUM has already been an incredibly fun experience.

 My days have been filled with learning science experiments to later teach to children at the Missoula Food Bank. My role is to help children in the community get excited about science and therefore that will hopefully translate to them staying in school.

Three of my favorite experiments I’ve learned so far are a zombie experiment, electrical circuits and an infectious disease experiment. One that I will not be taking to the food bank but completely enjoyed was dissecting… a cow eyeball! I have never seen the inside of an eyeball before, and now I can safely check that off my list! The kids that watch the experiments are so brave. They would happily watch the dissection and be willing to feel each part of the eye. I was not as brave as them. One of my favorite things I’ve heard so far was “learning here (at SpectrUM) is so much more fun!”

Busy learning at SpectrUM

I hope I can bring the fun and excitement with me to my time at the food bank. I am very excited to spend more direct time with the youth in the Missoula community.

Thanks for checking in!

ERIK SWANSON, VISTA WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA AND MISSOULA PUBLIC LIBRARY MAKERSPACE, CHECKS-IN

Erik Swanson tabling at U of M Volunteer Fair

Erik Swanson started his year of service as a Montana Campus Compact (MTCC) VISTA back in July of 2015.  Erik has made a ridiculously significant positive impact within his service site, the Missoula Public Library MakerSpace. The MakerSpace supports STEM learning, and provides resurces and tools to support innovative ideas to become reality.  Erik has grown the MakerSpace's capacity and increased its volunteer involvement, hours donated, and classes offered to levels the MakersSpace has never seen before.

Here is what Erik had to say about his service: 

What is your background and what led you to VISTA service?

The driving principal of my life is mutual aid: people help each other because it is beneficial to do so. I enjoy serving my community. It makes me happy. Before VISTA, I was struggling with my depression, and rarely left my house. Getting involved in my community helped me care about it, and become a healthier person.

Talk about what your project is about, and what you're working on?

Erik reading to students on MLK

My service is with the Missoula Public Library's Makerspace. We provide a space for community member's to learn and practice hands on 'making' skills. We do everything from 3d printing and modeling to jewelry crafting and electronics. We help people turn their ideas into physical things. The goal of the VISTA project is to provide STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills to struggling Missoula youth. These skills will help them thrive in the 21st century technology world. My main tasks are recruiting and training volunteers, and creating and overseeing educational programs. My favorite current class is our 'Computer Programming Through Minecraft.' This course teaches children the fundamentals of computer science through the lens of Minecraft, one of the world's most popular games.

How have you incorporated your campus partner into your efforts?

My campus partner is SpectrUM, (Missoula's hands-on science center) so we have a common interest in children's STEM activities. Besides referrals, I have also deepened our partnership through summer camp visits and sharing technology resources. In the spring I attended SpectrUM's Innovate UM conference as a guest tabler for the MakerSpace. 

What motivates you to serve as a VISTA?

A desire to help others and learn new things.

What are your plans after VISTA?

After VISTA I plan to serve as a Makerspace Manager and continue volunteering in my community.

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Erik will complete his service on July 17, 2016. We at the MTCC network office want to thank him for his hard work in service to the Missoula community and to our country as a whole. We wish him luck in all future endeavors! 

MTCC VISTA SUMMER ASSOCIATE ALEX FOWLER CHECKS IN

Montana Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates served ten weeks terms begining in June of 2015. These VISTAs focus on community needs like summer learning loss, nutrition, and STEM education.  This summer we had the pleasure of placing 28 VISTA Summer Associates across Montana. They came from near and far, and today we checked in with Alex Fowler who came to serve all the way from North Carolina!

Where are you from and how did you decide to come and serve in Montana?

I am from the foothills of North Carolina. I live in a rural town of 1,500 with pretty views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I currently am a junior philosophy major with minors in Health and Human Services and Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise at Wake Forest University located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Montana has always intrigued me as I have a love for nature and wilderness. I am halfway through college now and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get out west and experience things in a new light to refresh and rejuvenate myself as I go into the last half of my college career. I plan on pursuing a career in criminal/family law. Who knows? I could return to Missoula and attend law school at the University of Montana which I’ve heard has a rather prestigious program.

Where are you serving?  Can you describe a typical day or week?

I am serving at spectrUM Discovery Area in downtown Missoula. It was created to provide a place for children to interact with science in ways that they never could in a typical classroom setting. My position is the Americorps VISTA SciNation Summer Associate. SciNation is an organization of STEM and education leaders from Tribal Health and Human Services, Ronan Elementary School, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Wildlife Management Program, and Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation. They cooperate with spectrUM to help plan our outreach efforts and curriculum on the reservation. In a typical week I am either helping to plan the logistics and activities we will be taking during our events/conducting the events. We typically rent out a university vehicle, load up all of our supplies, and head out to the reservation site for that week to engage with students in numerous science activities.

What is the main focus of your project?

The main focus of our project is outreach. The youth we work with would typically have minimal opportunities to visit our museum during the summer. With summer break in full swing, there is a definite lack of educational endeavors that youth on the Flathead can participate in, and spectrUM and SciNation have collaborated to fill that gap. By partnering with school districts and other community partners, we have created a program called Science Bytes, which is in its inaugural year. You might be asking what Science Bytes actually is. For the majority of our outreach events, we have helped teach summer school for the first half of the days. During the second half, we transition to the area’s federally funded feeding site, located on the school’s premises and interact with even more students from the Boys and Girls Clubs Foundation to local church youth groups. Not only do the students get an enriching, nutritious meal for free, but they also get enriching science education at the same time. In one effort, we are helping to fill an educational barrier and aiding in promoting food security on the Flathead Reservation. Our shining achievement, however, was during the Arlee Celebration. We erected a large tent deemed as the “Science Learning Tent” manned with STEM role models from the Flathead community as well as numerous staff of our own. We served over 1,000 people in the two day period. The event was indisputably a success and was the climax of my service here. I was able to interact with the native culture in ways that I could never imagine, and I know I am a better person from the experience.

What do you plan on doing after your service?

I mentioned this earlier, but I will be making the 35 hour road trip with my best friend who is flying out to accompany me on the trek home. I will hope to finish school with high marks and enter the legal field.
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From all of us at the Montana Campus Compact affiliate campuses and network office, we thank Alex deeply for choosing to serve in Montana, and we wish him the best of luck in the future and hope to see him again in back in Montana.  

MTCC WELCOMES 16 NEW VISTAS TO SERVICE!

Montana's July 2015 VISTA Class with Lieutenant Governor Angela McLean

The Montana Campus Compact welcomed sixteen new AmeriCorps VISTA members into year-long terms of service with affiliate campuses last week.  These brand new MTCC VISTAs come from cities across the country as well as right here in Montana.  Staff and VISTA leaders spent five days in Helena helping to train, orient and  prepare these inspiring folks for their service.  

Following Montana's Pre-Service Orientation and Swearing In Ceremony with Lieutenant Governor McLean in Helena, MTCC's VISTA class spent two and a half days at the Montana Learning Center on Canyon Ferry for Campus Compact orientation and training, and learning the expectations of service with the Campus Compact network. Staff and members participated in a service projects with Helena Food Share, got familiar with one another, and MTCC's staff and VISTA leaders.  
On Saturday, July 18th we said our goodbyes and sent them on their way to their communities across the state. We wish them the best of luck during their service.  Our July 2015-2016 members and projects include:

Yaritza Aguilar- Dawson Community College Student Success- Glendive
Claire Anderson- Flathead Valley Community College and Sparrow's Nest- Kalispell
Olivia Carney- UM Blackstone LaunchPad- Missoula
Sara Feilzer- The University of Montana and spectrUM Discovery Area- Missoula
Lauren Hall-Montana State University and Montana After School Alliance- Statewide
Deanna Linn- Montana State University and the Girls STEM Collaborative- Bozeman
Jill McIntyre- MSU Blackstone LaunchPad- Bozeman 
Kelsey O'Donnell- UM Blackstone LaunchPad- Missoula
Alexandra Opie- Montana State University and the Children's Museum- Bozeman
Alanna Reid- The University of Montana and Girl Scouts- Missoula
Kelsie Severson-The University of Montana and Big Sky High School- Missoula
Erik Swanson- UM and the Missoula Public Library MakerSpace- Missoula
Jennifer Thimell- MSU Northern Lights Student Success- Havre
Michelle Van Meter- MSU Northern and HRDC IV- Havre
Brylee Zumpf- The University of Montana Western and Women's Resource Center- Dillon
Austin Terreri- VISTA Leader- Statewide, from MTCC Network Office

Keep checking back as we will be posting about the successes and strides our members are making in communities across the state!