“We’re showing kids that they can be the ones creating … the next life-changing innovations.”
JUSTIN SICKLES, Chemistry Teacher
When Justin Sickles walks into Kamin Science Center’s SciTech Days, he brings more than chemistry expertise — he brings a passion for showing young people that science is everywhere. As a chemistry/materials science teacher at West Mifflin Area High School and an ASM Materials Education Foundation Master Teacher, Justin has witnessed firsthand how informal, hands-on museum experiences can transform a student’s entire perspective on STEM learning.
“Materials science is kind of everything—the science of stuff, all the stuff that we make,” Justin explains to middle and high schoolers during his interactive demonstrations. “Almost all of art is science, and science itself is an art.”
It’s that intersection of creativity and discovery that makes the work of presenters and community partners at SciTech Days so powerful. Held through-out the school year, SciTech Days connect middle and high school students with STEM professionals from local businesses and universities.
Students who might struggle with abstract concepts in traditional classrooms suddenly light up when they can touch, manipulate, and experiment with real materials. “When I engage the kids in hands-on experiments with polymer powders or annealing steel, you see them go from bored to smiling, right in front of your eyes,” Justin says. “They are filled with questions and curiosity, asking to do more, to see it again. The difference is they’re not just learning about chemical reactions — they’re creating them, seeing them, understanding them in real time.”
As chapter secretary and education committee chair for ASM Pittsburgh, Justin understands the bigger picture. With millions of STEM jobs that will need to be filled nationally, and Pittsburgh’s innovation economy depending on future scientists and engineers, programs like those at Kamin Science Center serve a crucial role. “We’re showing kids that they can be the ones creating the next breakthrough materials, the next life-changing innovations.”
