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Kristine Bullock
SE Hub Manager
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Last Friday night of every month, 5:00-8:00 pm, Iowa Children's Museum
Southeast STEM Advisory Board Meeting January 18 3:00 - 5:00 Virtual
Scale-Up Application Opens January 22
Center Point-Urbana STEM Festival February 11 4:00 - 6:00 Center Point, IA
Scale-Up Application Closes March 5
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| Submit Your STEM Event HERE |
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| The Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council is a bipartisan collaboration of legislators, educators, businesses, students and families to increase STEM awareness and opportunities in Iowa. To learn more about STEM programming going on in southeast Iowa, visit us at http://se.iowastem.org. |
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Southeast STEM Advisory Board Member Crowned
Iowa STEM Champion
On November 13, the Technology Association of Iowa (TAI) hosted the 10th Annual Iowa Women of Innovation Awards in Altoona. The awards recognize women in business, government and academia who are leaders in STEM fields with the hope that more women and minorities will enter STEM fields. According to Brian Waller, TAI President, "One of the goals of TAI's board of directors is to engage more women in technology" and to promote a "diverse technology community by promoting inclusive workforce initiatives welcoming women, rural Iowans, and minority populations."
This year, a number of women from Southeast Iowa were
finalists across ten categories including Southeast Iowa STEM Advisory Board member Chris Cournoyer who received the STEM Champion Award. "
Just being nominated and considered a finalist was a great honor," Cournoyer said. "The other nominees in the STEM Champion category are all amazingly accomplished women and I am proud to be working with them to achieve the same mission. To receive the award is truly a great honor that I will never forget."
Cournoyer is truly a STEM Champion in Southeast Iowa and inspires youth to pursue a STEM career through her work with the Quad City Engineering and Science Council, Girls Who Code, and FIRST among others. "
Because I had so much encouragement growing up from my parents, teachers, mentors and friends, I feel an obligation to continue to pay that support forward by inspiring the next generation of innovators. I am so thrilled to be part of the Southeast STEM Board, the Quad City Engineering & Science Council and the Pleasant Valley School Board, where I am working with others who share my passion for STEM. To see kids light up when they try something new at one of our STEM events is one of the best things I have experienced," she said.
Are you interested in investing your time to inspire the next generation? Contact Kristine Bullock to volunteer at one of our events, engage with a scale-up classroom, or host a teacher at your business this summer.
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STEM Festivals & Events Continue to Inspire Young Iowans
Across Iowa, energetic children, parents, and passionate business professionals are coming together to engage in community STEM festivals that expose children to science, technology, engineering and math. Not only do these events get children excited about STEM through hands-on activities such as computer coding with Bee Bots, laparoscopic surgery, and welding simulators, they also put parents directly in front of business professionals who can talk to them about the importance of STEM and the potential careers available to their children.
This year, the Southeast Iowa STEM Region is partnering with multiple communities to host these events:
We are currently recruiting exhibitors to host 5-10 minute activities for the above events and you can register today by clicking the hyperlinks. For the Linn County STEM Festival February 22, exhibitors will also have the option to host a 30-45 minute session instead of a booth.
Are you interested in bringing a group of students? The Southeast STEM Region offers transportation reimbursement up to $200 for organizations who coordinate bringing groups of students. Contact Kristine Bullock at
kristine-bullock@uiowa.edu to learn more.
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Femineers Program Develops Engineers in Alburnett
In January 2017, the Southeast STEM Region awarded five programs seed funding to grow innovative programs with the hope of preparing them to be on the scale-up program menu. Funding for the Southeast Iowa STEM Innovation Fund was provided by local businesses who sought to partner with organizations in the community they serve. One of the awarded programs was the University of Iowa Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Femineers
™ program which was developed by
Cal Poly Pomona's College of Engineering in 2013 to expose young women to computer science and electrical and computer engineering through a STEAM approach.
One of the goals of WiSE is to expand educational opportunities for young women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). WiSE Femineers™ targets this mission by providing early exposure and educational opportunities for young women in the underrepresented areas of computer science and computer/electrical engineering.
The Femineers™ program is a 30-hour curriculum called Creative Robotics that can be adjusted to the individual needs of each of the students. Students begin by learning basic circuitry, electronics, and coding, which culminates in an art project that students program to have moving parts and programmable lights. For the pilot year, 18 female 18th grade students from Alburnett participated in the program under the leadership of
Ann Jameson and Brianna Lentz
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When asked about the future of the program, Chelle Lehman, Co-Director of WiSE at the University of Iowa, said, " My hope for the future of the WiSE Femineer™ Program is that it will grow to include schools across the state of Iowa. I also hope to engage and inspire young women who may not have previously considered a career in technology or may not have been interested in participating in traditional technology outreach programs."
To learn more about how the University of Iowa WiSE program is supporting underrepresented students in STEM, follow them on social media:
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3rd Annual STEM Pre-Service Teacher Conference March 2-3
It should come as no surprise that teachers have a significant impact on their students' future trajectories. A teacher's comfort with STEM content and teaching practices play a large role in students' interest in further pursuit of STEM courses and careers. Because of this, the Southeast STEM Region, the University of Iowa College of Education, and higher education institutions across the state are partnering to host the annual STEM Pre-Service Teacher Conference March 2-3 at the Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa in Coralville.
The goal of the conference is to provide undergraduate pre-service teachers from across the state, interested in STEM teaching and learning, a chance to find out more about different approaches and opportunities in STEM education and to network with one another.
Friday evening will include a networking reception, a dinner and keynote speaker along with an opportunity for students to meet each other. Saturday will include a light continental breakfast, breakout sessions in which faculty members, administrators, and statewide STEM education leaders will present information about unique and innovative approaches to STEM education. Lunch will also be provided. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with groups from across the state who provide resources for STEM educators and panels of school administrators and teachers will discuss issues relevant to early career STEM teachers.
Additional topics discussed at the conference:
- Project based learning
- STEM + Arts
- Science and math integration
- STEM and literacy
- STEM in elementary classrooms
- Engaging special needs students
- STEM differentiation
- STEM for English language learners
- STEM education policy
- Computer science
- STEM teaching endorsement
If you are interested in presenting at the conference or have resources to share, please register
here
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Undergraduate students, early career teachers, and higher education faculty members can register to attend this FREE conference here.
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Available Resources
A collection of resources for STEM educators, businesses, and community members
Virtual Reality Headsets
8 Virtual Reality 3D headsets are available for checkout. Students can use the headsets to view STEM career videos, explore the world beyond the classroom and much more. Educators will need to have access to Apple or Android device to use with the glasses (typically student's personal device). If interested in checking out the glasses, click
here.
Pint Size Science Kit Check-Out
New BeeBot mats have been received and are available for checkout! Four types of kits from the Science Center of Iowa that are designed for 3-5 year old students are currently available for checkout. If interested in checking out a kit or for more information on the kits that are available, click
here.
Renewable Energy Activity Kits
The Southeast STEM Hub is proud to partner with the ATEEC Interactive Learning Lab at Eastern Iowa Community College to offer renewable energy activity kits to educators throughout the southeast region. Thanks to the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, ATEEC is able to offer a variety of kits that are sure to engage any student.
If interested in checking out a kit or for more information on the available kits, click
here
A World In Motion Activity Kit Check-Out
Three types of kits designed for primary or elementary students are currently available for checkout.
If interested in checking out a kit or for more information on the kits that are available, click
here.
Materials may be checked out for 6 weeks. They can be picked up and returned at the Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa, 2301 Oakdale Boulevard, Coralville, IA 52241
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Please replace any consumables you use.
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Sincerely,
Kristine Bullock
SE Iowa STEM Manager
kristine-bullock@uiowa.edu |
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