Igniting the spark of discovery: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central NM hosts 10th annual Discovery Festival

Adobe Acres Elementary School fourth graders Aleena Rubio and Analei Nay know what they want to be when they grow up.

“I do gymnastics, so when I’m older, I want to be like Simone Biles and go to the Olympics,” Aleena said.

“I want to be a teacher,” Analei said. “My teacher sets a good example and teaches me things, and I want to teach others.”

But if those careers don’t pan out, Aleena and Analei may have found their backup plans at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Discovery Festival on Friday inside the Manuel Lujan Jr. Complex at Expo New Mexico, which allowed roughly 1,900 students from 26 schools around the state to explore professions such as medicine, engineering and mathematics.

Aleena said she enjoyed learning about building dams, one of 35 booths dedicated to STEAM-h — science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics and health — careers.

“I was having fun and got to help the community,” she said of building a dam out of Play-Doh to prevent a miniaturized version of Albuquerque from being flooded.

Meanwhile, Analei was inspired by the nurses, who were teaching how to perform CPR on babies, stationed at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing booth.

At each booth, students could interact with representatives of various organizations and try their hand at interactive displays.

“We want to get kids to be thinking, ‘Could this be something I want to do with my career?’” said Angela Reed Padilla, the chief operating officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico.

One of the booths generating the most attention was the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, where students learned how wastewater from homes is turned into compost the community can use to grow plants.

At the Water Authority booth, educators Ellie Collister and Stephen Williamson also explained the importance of not littering the bosque and not harming the animals native to the riparian forest. Williamson used puppets shaped like a porcupine, turtle, jackrabbit and even a water bottle to help illustrate the message.

“You could really see the light bulb turn on in their heads,” he said.

In addition to connecting kids with possible future career paths, the event, which has been held for 10 years, doubles as one of the biggest fundraisers for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Each company, organization and school with a booth paid to be there. The funds from the event go toward funding the nonprofit’s mentorship program, which pairs an adult with a child in need in the community. The festival generates roughly $70,000, which can pay for 70 children to receive a mentor, according to Reed Padilla.

“Our mission is to help kids in our community get connected with mentors, and this event helps us achieve that while getting kids involved with STEAM-h,” she said. “It’s a feel-good day.”

Gino Gutierrez is the good news reporter at the Albuquerque Journal. If you have an idea for a good news story, you can contact him at goodnews@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3940.