01
What is
I AM STEM Camps?
I AM STEM Camps focus on leveraging the development of community-based partnerships to increase access, equity, and diversity of high-quality informal STEM programs. These comprehensive enrichment summer camps last about 8 weeks, and target populations who are underrepresented in STEM fields, with goals of improving their interests, identity, and engagement in STEM. I AM STEM is a collaborative project that provides a model for how to embrace participants’ cultural practice and develop programs that meet the specific needs of communities and interests of the students. The I AM STEM curriculum integrates technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction into science. All activities have clear learning goals, and provide opportunities for children to engage in scientific phenomena while supporting their learning. I AM STEM Camps prepare students to become responsible and scientifically-literate citizens and aims to prevent summer learning loss which occurs when students are not engaged in formal instruction or practicing academic skills learned during the previous school year.
02
Mission
To provide high-quality STEM programs that meet the needs of the whole child.
03
Vision
To transform the face of STEM ... one community at a time!
I AM STEM Camps are designed to mentor children who are underrepresented in the STEM workforce and equip them with the knowledge, resources, and skills to become scientifically literate and productive citizens. Dr. Natalie King works within communities to identify staff, certified teachers, volunteers, and professionals who commit their time, resources, and energy to reach and teach K-12 students. I AM STEM Camps provide an early and deliberate exposure to STEM careers, and foundational knowledge to generate interest in those careers. Teachers and mentors are identified who share best practices and prepare students for the next grade level. The program’s main instructors are certified teachers in the district who are aware of the community’s culture, current standards, school climate, and testing accountability. Faculty and students from local colleges and universities work collaboratively with teachers to facilitate STEM lessons and mentor students.
I AM STEM Camps have an open-door policy where parents are encouraged to participate in the lessons, field trips, and activities. These relationships are built on trust and are embedded within the cultural and social context of the community. The classes are structured in a way that values the participants’ lived experiences with an emphasis on building relationships and an inclusive-community. I AM STEM Camps embrace a community-based and participatory learning environment approach by making direct and intentional partnerships within and across communities. This development of meaningful relationships between institutions of higher education (IHEs), community centers, faith-based institutions, informal institutions, and schools work to disrupt the silos and harness strengths in Communities of Color while working collaboratively to meet their needs.
Our Team
Natalie S. King
Founder & Executive Director
Natalie S. King, PhD - Founder and Executive Director of I AM STEM, LLC is a three-time graduate of the University of Florida and an Associate Professor of Science Education in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. Her scholarly work focuses on advancing Black girls in STEM education, community-based STEM programs, and the role of curriculum in fostering equity in science teaching and learning.
As a former high school science teacher, Dr. King is passionate about designing holistic curricula that embraces students’ cultural experiences while preparing them to become productive and critically-conscious citizens in a global society. She firmly believes in STEM for social justice and utilizes a transdisciplinary approach and design thinking to provide authentic and meaningful experiences that promote civic leadership. Through her programs and scholarly work, Dr. King provides a platform for youth voices to be heard and encourages them to work creatively and collaboratively to provide solutions to critical issues within their schools and communities.
Dr. King partners with community-based organizations to provide children with access to comprehensive summer enrichment programs. She offers professional development workshops and curricular support so that local organizations can deliver high-quality and affordable STEM programs to develop this generation’s scientists, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs, and mathematicians.
Dr. King is a recipient of the 2023 National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman Award – the nation’s highest honor for early career scientists and engineers. She is the first educator to receive this recognition. Dr. King is also an NSF Early CAREER Award (#1943285) recipient whose research challenges the capitalist agenda for encouraging girls’ involvement in STEM. She elevates the identities and brilliance of Black girls in her scholarship, programs, and grant projects. In addition, Natalie King serves as the Principal Investigator of an NSF Noyce project (# 1852889) seeking to diversify the STEM teaching workforce.
In her free-time, Dr. King enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and three children. She is truly committed to transforming the face of STEM…one community at a time!
