Marshall Elementary School Teacher Receives Iowa STEM Teacher Award

Pictured from left to right are Jeff Beneke, (Northeast Iowa STEM Advisory Council), Theressa Northouse (Marshall Elementary), Megan Boettcher (Kemin Industries), and Anderson Sainci (Northeast Iowa STEM Advisory Council)

The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education and Kemin Industries have announced the recipients of the 2024 Iowa STEM Teacher Award, sponsored by Kemin Industries.

The Northeast STEM region’s honoree is Theressa Northouse, a Technology Coach at Marshall Elementary School in Dubuque, Iowa. Ms. Northouse is being recognized for her efforts in going above and beyond in providing STEAM experiences at Marshall Elementary School. She has established several STEM clubs at her school, including a Coding Club, and Girls Who Code Club, and a Robot Club.

Ms. Northouse has collaborated with companies like John Deere and The National Inventors Hall of Fame to bring real-life, hands-on opportunities to the classroom. Her grant writing also produced Finch, Sphero, and DASH robots to ensure coding and robotics at all grade levels, while infusing creative challenges to keep the kids engaged. 

In her nomination for this award, Northouse was described as “bringing tremendous energy to the classroom to keep kids engaged and wanting more STEAM.”

Now in its 10th year, the Iowa STEM Teacher Award is given annually to one full-time, licensed preK-12 teacher from each of the six STEM regions in Iowa. Each recipient is honored for their efforts to foster enthusiasm and inspire a passion for STEM that goes beyond the classroom and helps prepare students for future high-demand careers.

As a recipient of the 2024 Iowa STEM Teacher Award presented by Kemin Industries, Northouse will receive $1,500 to use for her classroom and $1,500 for personal use. For more information about the award and all current and previous recipients, please visit https://iowastem.org/teacheraward.

Iowa Classrooms + Workplaces

Summit 2024

You and your colleagues are invited to the statewide Iowa Classrooms+Workplaces Summit being held on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at the Iowa Events Center, Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, in Des Moines. The day of the event, check in starts at 8:30 a.m. with the event running from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This Summit is open to the public and admission is free of charge thanks to generous sponsors.

Registration is required. To register and for more information, go to: https://iowastem.org/2024Summit.

The deadline for registration is April 3. 

Presented by the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education, the Summit brings together Iowans from education, business and industry, nonprofits, trade organizations, professional societies, governmental agencies, elected officials, students and others to amplify the public conversation and set the stage for inspiring networks, making connections and accessing what is possible to establish learning environments that link classroom learning to real-world career opportunities.

• The morning will include a presentation by Code.org Chief Academic Officer Pat Yongpradit on the “Future of Innovation and STEM: CS and AI Education as a Foundation,” as well as a presentation by ExcelinEd Senior Policy Fellow Christy Hovanetz on credentials to careers.
• Participants will be in for an inspiring presentation by Kemin Industries over the lunchtime with remarks on the importance of science education in our world today along with the recognition of the six STEM Teacher Awardees for 2024. The STEM Teacher Award has been sponsored by Kemin Industries since 2014.  
• The afternoon breakout sessions will provide an array of options for career-linked learning toward bright horizons and actionable outcomes. 

Requesting Exhibitors for the

Dubuque Family STEM Festival

Exhibitor registration is open for the Dubuque Family STEM Festival.

Who is invited to exhibit?

• Business and Industry
• Higher education
• Community non-profit groups
• Organizations providing STEM education

What are we looking for?

• Fun and free hands-on activities
• Conducting an experiment
• Playing a game
• Participating in an interactive demonstration
• Refer to examples for your organization

The Dubuque Area Family STEM Festival will be held on Thursday, April 18 from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds in Dubuque.

To learn more,

https://neiowastem.com/dubuque-area-family-stem-festival

Exhibitor registration deadline is

April 9.

Families are Invited to Attend the Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival on Tuesday, March 19

Students and their Families are invited to attend the Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival on Tuesday, March 19 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the University of Northern Iowa Dome, 2501 Hudson Rd., Cedar Falls, Iowa. The festival is free and open to the public.

The goals of the festival are to promote, inspire and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities and to introduce youth and their parents to STEM careers.

More than 60 exhibits will feature hands-on, interactive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities. Attendees can drive a robot, conduct amazing science experiments, and much more.

Organized like a street festival or county fair, visitors stroll from activity to activity at their leisure. All ages are welcome to attend. Exhibits will feature interactive STEM activities for students and their families. Attendees may conduct amazing science experiments, observe and interact with robots, perform surgery with a Laparoscopic Surgical Trainer, experience virtual reality, measure electricity usage of common electronic devices, and much more!

Expedite registration at the event by filling out the Express Registration. Bring the completed form with you the day of the event.

To learn more, visit

https://neiowastem.com/cedar-valley-family-stem-festival

The Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by the Northeast Region of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council, at the University of Northern Iowa, in partnership with Cedar Falls Community School District, Waterloo Community Schools, Central Rivers Area Education Agency, Hawkeye Community College, John Deere, University of Northern Iowa STEM, and Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley.