Talk show host and producer Max Rykov opens the educational event for area students. (Photo by Casey Marley).Anna Sims - Asst. Copy Editorasst.copyed@insideuab.com
On Saturday, Nov. 14 hundreds of students from 7th through 12th grade gathered at the Alys Stephens Center for TEDxYouth Birmingham’s “Made in the Future” event.
Speakers ranging from archaeologists to poets spoke to attendees about the future of life and the workforce and how they play a huge role in that future.
“We would be thrilled if everyone took one or two, maybe three ideas that really resonate with them and integrate them into how they live their lives,” said Matthew Hamilton, head organizer of the event.
The event ran all day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the lunch hour, students explored tables featuring local professionals. Chuck Yeager, manager of Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson, captured the attention of several teens by holding a live copperhead snake at his table titled “Backyard Biodiversity.” He talked to the students about wildlife that they could find around their own homes and discussed identification and safety procedures with them.
Another table tapped into the students’ creative side, with familiar books blanketing the table and a sign that read “Blackout Poetry.” Students tore out pages from familiar stories, such as “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and took markers to them to create poetry with the existing words on the page.
UAB student and yoyo enthusiast Trent Knighton demonstrated his skills and taught the students how to perform the not-so-outdated art. “I hoped that I could inspire some of the kids to yoyo, as some of them were around the same age I started,” Knighton said. “A lot of them seemed to be very engaged and willing to learn, so I’d be happy even if I inspired at least one kid to learn how to yoyo.”
Other tables helped students stimulate their professional minds, such as Mike Boody’s on the history of orality. Boody, an education specialist at Red Mountain Park, had the students simulate interviews with one another to teach the art of anticipation and the importance of interviewing well.
Students eventually filed back into the lecture hall to hear more speakers and soak up even more information. Every component of the event compelled students to reach further into themselves and further out into the world to achieve their goals.
Archaeologist and UAB professor Sarah Parack, Ph.D. who recently won the 2016 TED Prize, spoke at the national TEDx Youth event in New York and her presentation was streamed in for the students in Birmingham.
In her presentation, she encapsulated the vision of the events.
“For me, what’s amazing is the scale of what’s left to find in the world.” Having this event on UAB’s campus exposes ambitious youth to our facilities and to Birmingham—a city invested in growth beyond what even seems possible.
