It really depends on who you need and who you can find, but the guest expert role can be filled by pretty much anyone who's ready to share their special skills, knowledge, or experiences.
Neighbors, nerds, artists, makers, hobbysists, scientists, college students, and engineers! Folks who are passionate about what they do, what they are working on, and ready to share it with others. They are STEAM actualized!
They might also be working on a project that they need to playtest. Your programs are a perfect way for them to get REAL feedback from the kids and the kids can learn from them about why they are doing what they do.
Community knowledge is infinite! You can't fit infinity on your staff, but you can borrow from it by bringing in guest experts to lead learning experiences.
Guest experts use STEAM on a daily basis to make a difference, creatively solve problems, and potentially employ our students in the future! They show kids what a scientist can look like and do while still being a person who likes to dance!
<aside> ⚙️ Read even more about about why guest experts are so great in 📦 Saturday Crafternoons.
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Guest experts can pop in to add extra perspectives on STEAM and making! They can join a Learning Party with a quick hands-on project or demo or even lead a two hour workshop in Afterschool. They can also be the leads on even bigger projects such as neighborhood little free libraries or murals.
Think of all the times on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood where he would meet his neighbors and how they make things. It’s like that!
Look at the news! Any local cool inventions that someone could talk about? Can you do a workshop inspired by that? Also check out the faculty lists at local colleges and universities. Search for the “community outreach” person. There also might be people you know too!
<aside> ⚗️ Try this: Create a form to capture info about interested guest experts. See ours right here: Guest Expert Interest Form.
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Check out the many professional societies around like the Spectroscopy Society! Also check out the local Arts or Tech associations. In Pittsburgh, we have the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. They can connect you to their networks.
You can go about searching for guest experts in at least two ways: finding people who are skilled and experienced in the topic you're exploring (for example inviting a physicist to present on the science of rainbows) or you can find people who are skilled and experienced in their own way, and asking them to respond to the topic you're exploring (for example inviting an artist to lead a rainbow-making exercise).
Start building a relationship with them! Reach out, send an email that invites them to observe a program so they can see what it's like.
The scope and scale depends on your needs and their availability, but they typically work with you to design an activity, lesson, or series of lessons, gather materials and supplies, and then lead the instruction themselves, with support for your teachers.
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