What are the best ec’s that I can do in high school for STEM? There are no relating clubs, but I’d like to try something to see if I enjoy the field.
What do you mean by “try out the field”? Shouldn’t you have already experienced science class? Either way, I have some suggestions for you:
Beginner Science/Low Commitment: Average Science Clubs (like Chem Club, Bio Club, Science Club, Environmental Club, etc.)
Low/Medium/High Skill Level and Commitment (depending on if you want to do it seriously or not): Science Olympiad, International Science Olympiads (like IBO, IPhO, IChO, IAO, IOAA, etc.), research at local universities/research labs, science fairs (big ones like ISEF or Google, or small ones like a local fair/school fair), writing about science, etc.
If you just want to dip your toes into science, I’m pretty sure your school’s science classes have already covered that.
Read scientific literature! There’s tons of journal articles on Google Scholar just waiting for you to read them.
Go outside, check out trees and grass, watch the clouds drag their way across the sky. Grow some plants in your kitchen from seed. The internet is your friend- use wikipedia to give yourself a basic understanding of phenomena that you’re interested in.
It’s a mistake to think that you have to “do” science. Science is all around us, man. If you want to see if you enjoy the field, just sit back and observe it.
MIT has a massive bank of their lectures online. It would probably take a literal lifetime to get through them all: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/?utm_source=ocw-megamenu&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=mclstudy
This probably sounds really nerdy but there’s a bunch of youtube channels for science math and engineering. I don’t mean the ones that teach stuff you’d learn in school but just ones that talk about interesting quirks in those fields. Ex. standupmaths, ASAPscience, 3Blue1Brown, Simone Giertz (she builds really funny “bad” robots). Idk, its not an extracurricular but its fun?
You might see if you can get involved with FIRST robotics. A couple kids at my D2’s school tried it as part of a neighboring school’s team for a couple seasons, then started it at our school. It is about 6 years later, and the HS now has a strong program and also a new Maker Space they just opened.
One of my D2’s friends started a programming club at their school. Another volunteered at a local science museum, and another at a local park doing wetlands research.
If there is 4H in your area, you can join and do science related projects – one of my kids went to our state fair 3 times with wildlife biology related projects. My kid monitored a bluebird trail at our community center, entered data in the Cornell Nestwatch site for citizen scientists, and mentioned in her college apps that she has helped over 200 bluebirds fledge in our neighborhood. She also collected insects and mounted them. (And did a really unusual art project with large mounted insects leading a swarm of tiny paper cranes into battle against each other – but I digress).
Join Quiz Bowl if your school has it and study to be a science expert for the team.
If you can afford it, go to a summer science program. Operation Catapult at Rose-Hulman is an example of a program that isn’t too expensive. Or take some online MOOCs – stick with them all the way through so you get whatever ertification they give upon completion.
Join a local astronomy club.
Google “citizen scientist” for projects you can get involved with. Remember that even if you can’t find something in your direct area of interest, showing a general interest in STEM is good. My wildlife bio kid (in HS) is entering a PhD program this fall in experimental solid state physics.
Also talk to your science or math teacher and see if you can start a STEM-related club. Then you have leadership and a STEM club!