Hands-On Techie Talks

Where did those mysterious seed packets come from that were appearing on people's doorsteps last year?  Why did one brand's plantable seed packaging disappear from stores altogether, leaving a giant space where it used to be? In this episode, we solve these mysteries together and uncover a larger theme of invasive species and why what we plant and where matters. Co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar also discuss what it is like to be a sustainable designer and uncover how where your products go can mean the difference between a design being helpful or harmful. 

Have you ever wondered what sustainable packaging is and why it matters? In this episode of Hands-On Techie Talks, learn all about how plants have aided in the development of innovative packaging that is meant to support our Earth. Hear co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar discuss sustainable buying and all about the choices that they have to make as designers and innovators. 

We have returned to learning about plants and growth, this time through the lens of microbiology and science! Hear all about what our co-hosts have been up to with FIRST Robotics and a trip to Seattle to bring diverse STEAM role models to kids like you. Learn about Dr. Subha Srinivasan on the DNA inside of plants from student researcher Varun Sridhar, a board member at The STEAM Connection, and hear all about the power of food, forestry, agriculture! This episode also includes a very special shoutout to our awesome listener Sofia Lopez. 

In this two-part episode, our co-hosts record together for the very first time at The STEAM Connection headquarters. Co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar record this episode with their masks on and surrounded by lots of robots. During this episode, we get to learn more about Auto Oscar and its "crazy fun wacky" design elements, like wheel leaves featuring Sticky Notes! We also get to meet a toilet paper tube robot by Danielle that has "binocular vibes" and sports a top hat. Hear our co-hosts chat about all things Shrek (?!!), feeling good about yourself, and a new invention in the mix. This is a crazy episode that you don't want to miss! You can see an exclusive picture of Auto Oscar on our Instagram at @steamconnection.

In this two-part episode, our co-hosts record together for the very first time at The STEAM Connection headquarters. Despite living in the same city, Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar have never recorded a podcast episode together because of the pandemic. During a photo shoot for a new podcast cover, though, that changed as the girls record an episode with their masks on and surrounded by lots of robots. During this episode, we get to meet an exciting new robot named Auto Oscar, designed by Vinaya, that cleans up recyclables off of school floors and talks to you. Learn more about the prototyping and design process and next week tune in to learn more about how you can make your own robots. You can see an exclusive picture of the robot and more about the design process on our Instagram at @steamconnection.

Last week, we released our first post-Earth Day reflection with our co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar. This week, we are back with our second and final part! This episode is all about kindness, health, treating others and yourself with love, and self-care by doing what you enjoy! Our hosts talk about their love for designing and making, all about eating candy in moderation and how to treat your body kindly, and how their parents have crazy juicing habits!

Our last two episodes focused on Earth Day and how to celebrate it and on different types of environmental activism. This week, we look at the first part in a two part episode on post-Earth Day reflections with our co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar and discover how they celebrated Earth Day.  We also get to hear about their inventions, what they are currently creating to help others, sustainable design tips, and so much more. Next week, we will hear part two. It is all about kindness and health! 

Earth Day is fast approaching and our co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar decide to celebrate by chatting about all things environmental activism. They discuss different types of activism, environmental issues to care about, and actionable steps to take to help others no matter how young you may be. Also, for the very first time, our episode has an "after the episode" feature that shows behind-the-scenes footage of Danielle and Vinaya talking about everything from singing badly to bubblegum currency. We hope you laugh as much as we did. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Earth Day is a yearly and exciting opportunity to have our voices in environmental action heard by the world. Learn from Danielle Boyer on how to celebrate Earth Day in style with resources that will help you help others, educate yourself, and have fun.  Whether it be attending a virtual event or taking a fun quiz, make sure to get involved and to learn something new.

Learn about hydroponics in our continuation of our growth mini-series that focuses on all things plants with our young co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar. Listen to them delve into different types of hydroponics, how NASA grows plants in space, and why caring for our Earth, those around us, and ourselves matters. 

Welcome to season two of the podcast where we will be delving into a new mini-series on growth, focused around plants, gardening, and farming. This is a topic that our co-hosts see integrated heavily into their cultures and have seen throughout their childhood especially but have not spent much time discovering, especially in their pursuit of engineering. Join them on their journey of education, featuring special guests, as they learn about the world around them and how that relates to their cultures. In this episode, Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar introduce the new season and series and test their knowledge on plants to set the tone for the new season. 

To celebrate our 20th episode, we created special bonus content that discovers what an engineer's day and life really looks like. In this episode, we hear from our co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar chat with engineers Robert Maldonado (@virtualflatcad) and Michelle Chuang about all things engineering, student life, mental health, and what it is like being a minority. This is an episode that you don't want to miss!

We are finishing our month-long plastic series where we talked about things like single-use plastics and what they are, what recycling really means, and more. This episode focuses on what our hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunaskear learned while creating this series, tips to continue learning and creating change at home, and funny bloopers. 

We are continuing a month-long plastic series to talk about things like single-use plastics and what they are, what recycling really means, and more. This episode focuses on plastic technology, the history of plastic, and different types of plastic. This is an episode that you do not want to miss as we hear from our hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar on why they are passionate about environmental activism and using their skills for good.

We are continuing a month-long plastic series to talk about things like single-use plastics and what they are, what recycling really means, and more. This is really important information to know as more and more plastic pollutes our air, our water, and our land. Being aware and advocating for change will help us make a big difference! This episode focuses on recycling and what that means. People talk about recycling a lot and how important it is, but what actually is recycling and what happens when we recycle something? 

We are starting a month-long plastic series to talk about things like single-use plastics and what they are, what recycling really means, and more. This is really important information to know as more and more plastic pollutes our air, our water, and our land. Being aware and advocating for change will help us make a big difference! Today we are going to be focusing on single-use plastics and what they are. Many environmental activists you see in the media and on platforms like Instagram and TikTok want to ban single plastic, but why is this such a popular issue. We will be discovering the why during this episode with our co-hosts Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar.

Hear from one of our co-hosts, Danielle Boyer, and her STEAM journey and how she knew she could be a robotics and environmental changemaker in a personal message to you. Danielle recounts the first time she remembers encountering STEAM through a prank that she played as a child, up to the first class that she taught, and then to today. Her experiences in learning when to quit and in experiencing sexism in STEAM are really difficult to hear but are something that many others have experienced as well. Danielle hopes that through sharing her stories, she will help other young girls know that they are not alone and should pursue what they love.

Hear from our two young co-hosts Vinaya Gunasekar and Danielle Boyer as they explore biodiversity, habitat loss, and saving our animals. Our animals are going extinct quickly, and technology such as drones can offer the answers to help us keep an eye on at-risk animals like the orangutan. They go over simple steps that you can take to conserve land by watching what you eat and wear. Follow along with this episode with our fun worksheet.This podcast is sponsored by The STEAM Connection where we create diverse, accessible, and affordable Science, Technology, Engineering Art, and Math education for kids by students. Learn more.

President Joe Biden was just elected and has already been taking environmental action, but what does this mean? This episode is a brief overview for our young listeners on recent policy, bias and why it matters, how policy is affecting Indigenous peoples, how the Keystone XL pipeline production has stopped and has been invalidated but is yet to be shut down, and more. It can be hard to talk about these topics, but it is important to know what is going on so that we can better advocate for a better and safer Earth. Reading: Dakota Access Pipeline Operating Illegally by EcoWatch. Joe Biden Cancels Keystone XL Permit by the Verge. Judge Blocks Keystone XL Pipeline, Says Government Cannot Ignore 'Inconvenient' Facts by the Verge. 

Welcome back! Join us with our guest Rob Maldonado (@virtualflatcad) as we learn about the importance of communicating well with others about engineering and how it can make or break a design. How we talk and work with others has changed during the pandemic and has made it harder to express ideas easily, so learn tips and tricks on how we have gotten better at this and prepared ourselves to be better inventors and creators. Also, hear about our New Years' resolutions and how we are dedicated to being happier, healthier, and stronger.Follow along with this episode.Follow Rob and see his engineering projects.Make your own Twenty Robot.

Meet Aidan Aird, a young entrepreneur, inventor, and student from the University of Toronto in our last episode of the year as we talk about dinosaur fossils, robot dogs, and becoming our best selves. He is a Guinness World Record holder, co-founder of the educational nonprofit STEM Kids Rock, and is an accomplished designer. We will be back in January after a holiday break, so until then attend some of our classes or download our Twenty robot materials at www.steamconnection.org.

We know you're interested in STEAM learning and you've come to the right place for that,  but what do you do from there? What kind of resources should you use for your continued learning? Hear Danielle Boyer and Vinaya Gunasekar talk about their favorite educational resources in every area of STEAM and how you can get involved too. Some of the resources are free, some are not, but either way, this is the perfect episode for you to learn about where to get your robots, which books to read, and so much more. Learn more.This podcast is founded by The STEAM Connection and is not sponsored by any third party.

To celebrate both of our co-hosts November birthdays, we decided to record a casual episode where they talk about everything from new "birthday" resolutions, to dad jokes, to playing pranks on your siblings. Meet Twenty, our new educational robot.

Join us in learning from 18-year-old environmental activist and public speaker, Diego Arreola Fernandez. Diego created his organization, Green Speaking, after learning about the devastating consequences of plastic pollution and excessive consumerism while at the 2019 Ocean Heroes Bootcamp. His campaign uses in-school engagement, social media, and motivational videos to encourage children, schools, and businesses in Mexico to fight plastic pollution. He also gives talks to everyone from five-year-old children to business leaders to help people figure out their own unique role in the fight against plastic pollution. Diego organized a conference to build on this effort which will happen in 2021.In a country contending with serious gang-related violence, deep poverty, and pervasive social inequality, raising awareness about the environment is no small task. But the need for it is urgent. Diego's next goal is to turn his campaign into an environmental organization with the mission of cultivating more environmental leaders prepared to raise their voices for the planet and inspire people towards a truly sustainable future.You can learn more about Diego here, and you can follow along with this episode with an activity sheet here.

Hear from just our founder and co-host this week, Danielle Boyer, about her STEAM journey, overcoming adversity, and how youth can and are changing the world. From being mistreated on her youth robotics team, to first teaching at age ten, to now changing the world with robots, you won't want to miss her journey. Follow along with this episode at home with an activity sheet at www.steamconnection.org/podcast.

Learn all about 3D printing and the impact that it has on our Earth with Rob Maldonado (@virtualflatcad), an engineering influencer on Instagram and avid 3D modeling expert. His work has garnered him thousands upon thousands of followers on Instagram, and he so kindly shared more about his work and its impact with us in our fifth episode of Hands-On Techie Talks!

In honor of International Day of the Girl on October 11th, we recorded a special episode with mentors and members of FIRST Robotics Competition Team the Goon Squad from Woodhaven, Michigan. Vinaya and Danielle interviewed Brandon Queen, Dr. Nicole Gayney, and Sabrina Phillips about their unique experiences with an event that they put on called the Goonettes Invitational to draw girls into robotics learning. Because of the pandemic, we couldn't attend this event in person this year. Instead, we decided to chat about our STEAM values virtually.

This week, hear from our co-host Danielle Boyer in a casual chat about plastics, their impact on our Earth, and what you can do about it in your everyday. Hear about the dangers of colored plastics, why recycled plastic is big business, how much plastic is in our environment, and small ways you can tackle this issue through changing your habits as a consumer. 

This week, our hosts are joined by Varun Sridhar. Varun Sridhar is a microbiology student at the University of Washington who researches in quorum sensing and works to introduce girls to the world of research. Learn from his experience with bacteria on how it is changing the world as we know it. Whether you like bacteria or not, learn about how it impacts our environment and is not as icky as it seems. Follow along at home with our hands-on activity sheet at https://www.steamconnection.org/handson

Welcome to Hands-On Techie Talks, hosted by two girls who love all things STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). Both from Troy, Michigan, the girls have worked together for a long time through FIRST robotics because of their love for robotics. We cannot wait to bring you this fun and inspirational podcast to introduce young kids to STEAM careers.Follow along with our worksheet at http://www.steamconnection.org/handson.Brought to you by The STEAM Connection.