Shelley Olds is an instructional designer at EarthScope Consortium and a partner on the YouthQuake project.

Generating thoughtful questions—and building the confidence to ask them—is a cornerstone of scientific inquiry. Middle school students in the YouthQuake project had the rare opportunity to ask geoscience professionals about their journeys into STEM careers and explore their own potential pathways into STEM.

Middle school students meet with a geoscientist over Zoom.

Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, YouthQuake introduced two cohorts of students in California’s Central Valley to a computational geoscience module on assessing earthquake hazards and risks using block code. The one-week curriculum, implemented in spring 2024 and fall 2024, also connected students with science learning about their local community.

To ground classroom learning in the real world, geoscience professionals—including scientists, graduate students, technicians, engineers, and data scientists—visited YouthQuake middle school classrooms virtually.

Recruiting geoscience professionals

The YouthQuake project partnered with the EarthScope Consortium to recruit geoscience professionals, including alumni of their college internship program, geoscience professionals at state geological surveys, university partners in seismology and geodesy, and EarthScope staff. Recruitment focused on early-career professionals, those whose near-peer status could help students feel more comfortable asking questions. Of course, ideal candidates also expressed an interest in engaging with middle school students in a conversational Zoom format.

We were delighted by the response from over 20 geoscience professionals. Ultimately, we selected 11 who reflected a broad range of STEM and STEM-adjacent careers. All were at the beginning of their careers, and included both men and women who identified as Black, Latina, White, and Asian. Several were first-generation college students and most came from modest financial backgrounds. Their educational paths varied widely—many began at community colleges, changed majors, paused their studies, or took non-linear routes to their final degrees.

Teachers helped students prepare for the classroom visits by guiding them in developing their own questions related to geoscience content, career pathways, and the daily responsibilities of the visiting professionals. A deeper objective emerged: students practicing formulating their own questions. In most classroom science activities, the questions, procedures, and goals are pre-defined. Here, students had the chance to come up with their own lines of inquiry—driven by genuine curiosity.

The visits

While science professionals are often invited to visit a classroom to give a presentation on a specific science topic, YouthQuake aimed for a more interactive experience, encouraging genuine exchanges between students and visitors. Each session began with a brief introduction of the scientist, after which the teacher facilitated the exchange. In most classrooms, the visitor appeared on a large screen at the front. In others, one or more laptops were used to bring the visitor closer to students.

Rather than giving a formal presentation, the guests were encouraged to share photos of their workplace or field experiences and to respond to student questions in an open Q&A format.

Five question themes

Across 11 classrooms and 7 teachers, students asked over 400 questions, revealing both curiosity and a desire to connect with the science professionals. Most questions fell into five major themes.

Theme 1: Initial spark toward STEM

Students wanted to know why the geoscience professionals chose their careers, what inspired them to go into STEM, and whether or not their current job was always their dream job. Questions such as “How did you first become interested in geophysics in the first place?” and “Did you dream of this career when you were young?” were common. Other questions included:

• “At what point in your life did you know you wanted to do what you do now?”
• “Did you always want to become a scientist?”

Many of the geoscience guests described how they didn’t initially plan to go into science. Some began in unrelated fields, changed direction mid-way, or were inspired later in life—by a place, a class, or a personal experience. A few spoke about rediscovering childhood interests or being drawn to science after moving to a new geographic region. These stories helped students see that there isn’t a single path into STEM—and that uncertainty, change, and discovery are all part of the journey.

Theme 2: Pathways to careers

Students wanted to know how the professionals had reached their current positions, asking about the academic and professional steps involved (e.g., “What courses did you take?,” “Where did you go to school?,” and “Which school has the best engineering geology programs?”).

Students followed up with additional questions:

• “Were you good at math?”
• “What were the most difficult courses you took?”
• “When you became a scientist, did you want to quit?”

The professionals were candid about their struggles—some mentioned failing classes, switching majors, or taking breaks from school. Others spoke about overcoming challenges through tutoring, mentoring, or internships. Their personal stories provided a realistic view of what persistence in STEM looks like and highlighted the value of support systems and flexibility.

Theme 3: Life as a science professional

Students were also interested in the geoscientists’ day-to-day experiences. They asked about job satisfaction, personal milestones, and the emotional highs and lows of the profession with questions ranging from “Do you like/dislike your job?” to “How long have you been doing this?” and “How much do you make?”

Students asked:

• “Have you ever been embarrassed because you got something wrong?”
• “Has it ever been stressful to collect data?”
• “Have you ever had a gut feeling telling you not to go on a trip?”
• “Has there ever been a point in time where you thought about changing your job?”

Again, the scientists’ honest stories about both successes and setbacks revealed that science isn’t just about knowledge—it’s also about navigating uncertainty, working through challenges, and continually growing as learners.

Theme 4: Work environment

Closely related to professional life were questions about where science happens and what those environments are like. Initial questions focused on logistics and tools (e.g., “How do you do your research?,” “What kind of technology do you use when studying earthquakes and what do they do?,” and “How do you get all the data for your work?”).

When students learned where the scientists worked—including Antarctica and deserts—they had follow-up questions:

• “What were you mapping in the desert?”
• “Can you describe your experience with geological field work?”
• “What are some adjustments you have to make being on the other side of the world?”
• “What was the most disgusting thing you had to do (in Antarctica)?”

The scientists’ answers helped expand students’ perception of where science is done—not just in labs, but in remote, dynamic, and sometimes unpredictable environments.

Theme 5: Geoscience inquiry

Finally, many students asked deep content questions—both those covered in their curriculum and new ideas sparked by the visits. Some questions were tied directly to the YouthQuake module, such as “Are GPS stations involved in your job?,” “Can tectonic plates stretch?,” and “How do you approach risk assessment and management for engineering projects?”

Others were inspired by the professionals’ comments or curiosity about Earth systems:

• “How does studying Earth’s magnetic field help us understand climate change and Earth’s history?”
• “How do most fires start when an earthquake happens?”
• “What happens to the ocean when an earthquake happens?”
• “What causes a tsunami? An earthquake? A volcano to erupt?”

These questions show that students were listening carefully and thinking critically—applying what they’d learned in class to broader geoscience concepts and current research.

Reflections

The five question themes offer a window into how middle school students think about science and scientists—and how even a single virtual visit can open doors to meaningful exploration, connection, and learning. While students had no problem generating hundreds of questions, asking them in real time wasn’t always as easy.

Many students were hesitant at first—some hid their faces or avoided eye contact with the computer camera. Teachers worked to lower barriers with the placement of screens or microphones, and to create more direct, engaging interactions. In another adaptation one teacher had students sit in front of the display laptop to ask their questions one by one. When microphone issues occurred in other classrooms, teachers pivoted to having students use Zoom’s chat function.

Even though some students were initially out of their comfort zone, many of them warmed up quickly and were very engaged in not only asking initial questions but also following up on what the visitor may have already shared.

For some students, the science visitors were one of their favorite parts of the YouthQuake curriculum. When one 8th grader reported on what he learned in YouthQuake, he said, “​​Why I found the interview to be so intriguing was the positive feeling I had knowing we could ask an expert about his experiences with earthquakes. I found it fun that we learned about his life and job and the contributions that he has made. When we had the interview, I felt more informed about earthquakes … and being a seismologist.”

Bringing science to life

In several classrooms, the visits sparked new learning, including in one class that pursued a deep dive into moonquakes after a scientist mentioned them. The Q&A with scientists also helped expand students’ understanding of what science looks like in practice. Furthermore, teachers appreciated the opportunity to host the science visitors, hoping that the experience was an additional opportunity to open students’ minds to STEM-related careers that they may have never heard of before.

After the scientists’ visits, several of the YouthQuake teachers had their students explore a wide range of STEM careers that they might be interested in. One teacher asked her students to research a career and prepare a formal presentation for the class. She asked students to include three questions that they might ask a scientist in their chosen field. After the science visitor experience, students had no problem with this task! For example, one student was excited by the idea of a career in zoology.

Another was interested in marine biology.

Conclusion

During middle school, students begin to form a sense of identity, including how they perceive themselves academically, socially, and in relation to science and potential career paths. By putting a face and a name to a job title, the virtual visits by geoscience professionals helped students see that science is a human endeavor—with real people from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

The YouthQuake classroom visits also supported the development of students’ STEM identity by helping them envision themselves in science or geoscience careers and consider the educational pathways that lead to those careers.

The conversations with practicing scientists helped to demystify science careers, build student confidence, and shift perspectives. Students saw themselves as curious, capable, and ready to ask the next big question. In other words, part of the STEM community.