The Northeast Iowa Region Governor's STEM Advisory Council, located on the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) campus, believes it is important to bring our community together to advance the STEM movement that is transforming the nation.
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Northeast Iowa has two STEM festivals scheduled in April
Families throughout northeast Iowa are invited to make their way to Dubuque on Saturday, April 18, or Calmar Thursday, April 30, to drive robots, conduct science experiments, visit a star lab and explore 3D modeling. The events promote, inspire and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities and to introduce children and parents to careers through STEM. The festivals are free events that will take place: Dubuque Family STEM Festival Saturday, April 18 Clarke University Kehl Center Dubuque 10 AM to 2 PM Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival Thursday, April 30 Northeast Iowa Community College Calmar 4 PM to 7 PM Organizations may still register to exhibit for the Northeast STEM Festival on April 30. To learn more, please visit our website.
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Tama County Family STEM Festival
The Tama County Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by Northeast Iowa Region Governor's STEM Advisory Council at the University of Northern Iowa, South Central Iowa Region Governor's STEM Advisory Council at Drake University, as well as South Tama, North Tama, Union, Meskwaki, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, GMG and Belle Plaine community schools. The event was hosted on Sunday, March 22, 2015, at South Tama County Elementary School in Tama. The free event attracted 353 people. Attendees encountered 29 hands-on exhibits and 1 specialty show throughout the afternoon. A summary of the festival attendance is below.
Click here for a full report on the festival.
| Pictures from the day of the STEM festival. |
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The Northeast Iowa Region is Home to 3 of Iowa's 6 "STEM Jobs Approved Colleges"
Congratulations to Loras College, University of Northern Iowa and Upper Iowa University for their recent designation as STEM Jobs Approved Colleges. This recognition is for colleges and universities that provide broad and innovative STEM degree options for undergraduate students, actively recruit underrepresented and under-prepared students into STEM degrees, as well as offering targeted student support systems and career services to help students succeed. More than 1,600 schools participated in the STEM Approved Colleges application process and only 6 Iowa schools made the 2015 inaugural list. The stemjobs.com website offers the current list of STEM Jobs Approved campuses, a quarterly e-magazine on STEM careers targeted at high school students, and a STEM fields quiz to assist students with finding careers inspired by their interests and skills.
"STEM Jobs Approved is a recognition that the University of Northern Iowa as an institution is committed to STEM," said Marcy Seavey, UNI STEM coordinator. "We don't have just one academic department behind STEM or one aspect of Student Support Services. We have many diverse and exciting majors to choose from, a variety of support systems for students who are struggling and excelling in STEM, and faculty and staff who are committed to each individual student's success."
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New Pathway for Partnerships: STEM Council's Seal of Approval
The STEM Council recently added a new recognition system to the Iowa STEM toolbox, referred to as the STEM Council's Seal of Approval, which recognizes the great STEM happening organically across Iowa.
Programs and events that align with STEM Council goals, such as community hack-a-thons, conferences, afterschool programs, citizen engagement, showcase events and more may apply for the Seal of Approval. Its dual function is to recognize and help elevate quality STEM outside of the STEM Council purview and expand opportunities for Iowans to identify and participate in great STEM by connecting to the STEM Council. Five applicants worked through a beta-version of the application with a committee of the STEM Council. Eventually, all five earned designation as the first recipients of the Seal of Approval and were announced at the Iowa STEM Summit on March 30, including: -
STEM Family Free Night at The Iowa Children's Museum;
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Exploring Iowa Archaeology program of the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist;
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Lewis Central Middle School's eighth grade STEM program;
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Math Counts and Science Rocks at the Vermeer Yellow Iron Academy;
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And, the Nature STEM Camp program, a joint venture of Sibley-Ocheyedan School District, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Osceola County and City of Sibley Recreation Department.
Each program or event that applies is unaffiliated with existing STEM Council programs and will be considered based on the program's alignment to STEM Council goals, the needs of the community and its benefits and offerings to meet those needs. The Seal of Approval can be leveraged for promotion, external funding and other types of support. For more information on the STEM Council's Seal of Approval or to apply, visit www.iowastem.gov/seal.
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