Though high schools offer an abundance of extracurriculars for students to choose from, opportunities for those passionate about science and math fields are often scarce. Participation in STEM-related fields are often only limited to a small percentage of students through select competitions. Diamond Bar High School’s Imagiscience Club aspires to change that. 

First introduced to the campus in 2012, Imagiscience is a volunteer-based club focused on spreading interest in mathematical and scientific matters, as well as similarly relevant career paths. 

“Our main mission is to help spread a love for science among the younger generation,” Vice President of Events junior Eileen Zu said via Instagram. 

Not limited to serving as a platform for science enthusiasts to exchange knowledge through discussions, the club also offers a chance for members to interact with and inspire children, starting from as young as preschool age. 

“Our main activity is Kiddie Academy, where we go there and do crafts/labs with the children to incorporate fun into learning,” club President senior Daniel Wu said via Instagram. “We teach young children about science, hoping to spark their interests through activities.” 

However, the continual rise of coronavirus cases has prevented the club from hosting any in-person volunteer activities since March; since then, the club has retained around 20 to 30 members. 

“The pandemic has really impacted us negatively because our main events are in-person and COVID negatively impacts our events both in quantity and quality,” Wu said. “Our main priorities are adapting to online so that we can continue our activities.” 

Similar to many other campus extracurriculars, Imagiscience is holding  both its officer and member meetings through Zoom, where scientific and mathematical concepts are discussed, as well future plans to incorporate virtual volunteer opportunities. Due to their inability to carry out the usual activities held through Kiddie Academy, officers have resorted to posting videos of scientific concepts for the time being. 

         Since early October, senior Vice President Sritaran Bondada has been posting a multitude of clips covering concepts in physics to explanations of mathematical equations. 

Despite these circumstances, Wu said he remains hopeful and is actively planning with the rest of the board for new ideas to be introduced in the coming weeks. The group plans to release educational videos featuring members performing interactive labs that will be  sent out to the children so they can follow along from home. 

“I hope that this club can expand and reach out to more people so that we can spread our influence,” Wu said. “We hope that the students can get leadership skills as well as teaching techniques to help with their future.”