Northwest Iowa STEM Newsletter

April 2022

Mary Trent

NW Regional STEM Manager

Contact me at mtrent@iowalakes.edu

Northwest Regional Advisory Board Members

Tina Benton,

Sioux City

Ben Bouza,

Hawarden

Beth Bunkers, Primghar

Tyler Hahn,

Cherokee

Lex Jacobson,

Ida

Kiana Johnson, Primghar

Jordan Menning, Rock Rapids

Faith Miller,

Carroll

Andrew Roelfs,

Sioux Center

Mary Skopec,

Spirit Lake

Brenda Welch, Meriden

Mark Zabawa, Spencer

Check out NW STEM Web Site!

https://www.iowalakes.edu/stem/

Northwest STEM Calendar

Stay up-to-date on all Northwest STEM regional opportunities and even a few statewide. Use this calendar to share your STEM events with others.

NW STEM Lending Resources

Check out the STEM lending library for educators and place your order online.

Don't forget to connect with NW STEM on social media as well!

Check us out on Facebook:

@NWSTEM Region

https://www.facebook.com/NWStemRegion/

@NWIowaSTEM

Invite a friend or colleague to sign up for this newsletter:

http://goo.gl/oPZmPP

Hinton High School

Blackhawk STEM Festival

NW STEM and Hinton High School hosted a STEM Festival on March 3, 2022. Students in grades 8-12 participated in the festival. This was an amazing opportunity to provide students with experience and learn about companies and organizations in the STEM fields and what they have to offer in STEM Career pathways. Students engaged in some hands-on experiential learning. They attended three different exhibits during a one-hour timeframe. There were 11-15 state or regional companies/organizations with hands-on exhibits during the event.

The goal was to provide students with some hands-on, interactive activities with attending organizations and to learn more about what they do in their field to expose them to career opportunities and educational pathways for post secondary education.

"The STEM Fest is an opportunity for students to experience careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We hope to engage students in career fields they have not yet considered. Students shouldn't feel pressured to pick a career as soon as they graduate high school, with little to no knowledge of what interests them. Instead, high school should be an opportunity for them to explore as many careers as possible…” Stephanie Bolinger, Hinton High School Ag Teacher, FFA Adviser

Woodbury Central Elementary School

Computer Science Festival

Students in grades K-5 participated in a Dr. Seuss themed Computer Science Festival on March 4, 2022. Students attended various sessions learning how to code and use computational thinking with Bee Bots, making coding bracelets, Ozobots, and Cubelets. Many community partners joined in on the fun and hosted sessions. We have some future computer programers at Woodbury Central!

STEM Offers Educator Scholarships

The Executive Committee of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council determined that two supports for STEM educators are needed in order to maintain the high quality and essential role of STEM education throughout the state:

Incentive for practicing STEM professionals to career transition to teaching.
Support for in-service STEM teachers to update their skills and knowledge in the fast-moving fields of STEM.

For STEM professionals seeking support to career-transition to teaching, access the RAPIL scholarship here:

STEM Pro -> STEM Teacher

For in-service STEM teachers seeking support to enroll in a course to update skills and knowledge, access the STEM-LIfT scholarship here:

STEM Teacher -> STEM "LIfT" Teacher

STEM BEST 2022

The STEM BEST Program provides up to $25,000 to Iowa public and

non-public school districts and buildings for models that demonstrate business-education partnerships and provide work-based learning experiences for students.

Nearly 700 partnerships have been created through this program. The first step is to identify key players and form a team to meet the needs of the local community.

A 1:1 match of cash and/or in-kind support is required and can be contributed by the applicant or a community partner.

For more information and to apply for this award, Please visit: www.IowaSTEM.org/STEMBEST

NW AEA & NW STEM Tech Playground

Iowa STEM Teacher Externships are full-time, six-week temporary summer positions in local businesses and agencies for secondary teachers of mathematics, science and/or technology. STEM Teachers earn a stipend of up to $5,000 (including two paid professional development days), as well as three graduate credits through the University of Northern Iowa’s Continuing Education program.

Click on the link below to apply for an Iowa STEM Teacher Externship: https://uni.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bDzSbk1YzBGaotM

Pre-service teachers are eligible to apply for the Iowa STEM Teacher Externship Program. To apply as a pre-service teacher, click on this link: https://uni.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dnDfNGaJcaQRrV4

Click on the link below to complete a Workplace Host Interest Form:

https://uni.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bkYq1t1Cqnq6J14

NW STEM and NW AEA hosed a Tech Playground on March 7, 2022 in Sioux City. Over 30 educators spent the day learning about resources that their AEA and STEM hub can provide and have available for checkout. Educators enjoyed "playing" with the gadgets and learning how to integrate them into their existing curriculum and meet Iowa Core Standards. It was great to be in person and explore together!

STEM Fest Jr.

NW STEM in partnership with Iowa State Extension and Outreach hosted a STEM festival on March 19, 2022, at the Foster Community Center in Rock Rapids. NW STEM offered a session on building Hexbug mazes. It was a great morning of exploration and STEM fun for children in first through third grade.

Share your Scale-Up Story with Us!

Were you awarded a Scale-Up Program this year? If so, please share your story and pictures with us! We will share your story in our newsletters and social media. Invite me out to see the Scale-up Program in action!

Email: mtrent@iowalakes.edu

NW STEM Checkout System is Now OPEN!

NW STEM Checkout system has many great STEM Scale-Up kits as well as other materials perfect for classrooms, homeschools, libraries, and after school groups! And the best part, everything is FREE!!

We utilize the AEA van system to make deliveries of all our kits. You can keep the kits as long as you need them and simply set them out for the AEA van to pick up. It's as simple as that!

You can find a complete list of our items and check out form here:

https://www.iowalakes.edu/stem/stem-resources/.