North Central STEM Hub Newsletter April 2015

Symbolic of Iowa's broad-spectrum commitment to STEM education, record-setting attendance at thefourth annual Iowa STEM Summit drew in STEM leaders from eight states, including 13 percent business and economic development, 10 percent public universities, 33 percent preK-12 education, 12 percent private and community colleges, 15 percent nonprofits and informals, 8 percent extension and AEAs, 8 percent state and local government, plus a valued handful of unaffiliated advocates.

The transformation of STEM education was on full display, highlighting the progress of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council's four STEM-focused classrooms and best practices of the recipients of the STEM Education Award for Inspired Teaching, sponsored by Kemin Industries.

The future of Iowa's STEM education came into focus through provocative sessions, panels and speakers. As a result, the STEM Council is zeroing in on answers to major challenges, including the place for computer science, STEM support of the arts, leverage of counselors, diversity of the STEM talent pipeline, connecting business and school, engagement of higher education, maximizing the out-of-school learning zone, recognition of excellence and building STEM awareness.

Opening keynote Kwizera Imani, former Tanzanian refugee and now a senior enrolled in five advanced placement courses at Des Moines North High School, will attend Iowa State University for Aerospace Engineering and encapsulated the day's big message, "The best way to influence students is to grab their attention at a young age. If we involve them at a young age, they will become confident and proud, and the number of students interested in STEM careers will grow," Imani said.

Link for Summit Videos & Breakout Session materials

STEM BEST Event Scheduled to Promote Business/School Partnerships

In December 2014, five exemplary models of education and business partnerships were awarded funding through the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council's STEM Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers (BEST) program. The Council has designated a portion of the state legislative funding to promote Iowa STEM BEST programs, with the goal of uniting the expertise of public and private sectors to strengthen the continuum from school to careers.

To support the sharing of best practices across the state, a statewide meeting will be held on June 17, 2015 from 9:00-4:00 at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny preceded by a networking reception June 16. Partnership teams of educators, administrators, higher education, economic development, chambers, and business/industry are encouraged to attend.

To attend the event, prior registration is required and can be completed here
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Space is limited and lodging will be provided for attendees to attend the reception June 16 and meeting June 17.

To learn more about the STEM BEST model in Iowa, contact Southeast Regional Manager Kristine Bullock at Kristine-bullock@uiowa.edu

STEM 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, after-school 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;

* Exploring Iowa Archaeology program of the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist;

* Lewis Central Middle School's eighth grade STEM program;

* Math Counts and Science Rocks at the Vermeer Yellow Iron Academy;

* 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.

Maker Space Movement in

NC STEM Region

Students in Manson NW Webster and NE Hamilton have recently held Maker Days at their elementary schools. With the assistance of PL AEA and numerous volunteers these events have been very popular. Manson NW Webster's event included a visit of the ISU College of Design FLEx Trailer and many high school students assisting the numerous volunteers. NE Hamilton's event was their annual VIP day where multiple generations of the students' families were participating in the activities.

Marshalltown Community College Designated as a STEM Jobs Approved College

Congratulations to Marshalltown Community College for their designation as STEM Jobs Approved College. 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.

Professional Development Opportunities

Getting to The Core of Agriculture Education In Floyd County

Date: June 9-10, 2015

Location: Borlaug Learning Center - Nashua, Iowa

Description: Participants will leave the workshop with instructional strategies, lessons and activities that can be immediately implemented into their classroom with little or no additional effort. Student engagement and impact will be high with this hands-on learning in something we can all relate to - food. Topics will include, Iowa's prairies, food science, corn and soybean production, agricultural technology, and soil/water conservation.

Center for Biorenewable Chemicals

at Iowa State University

CBiRC's pre-college education strategic plan is to form long-standing partnerships with central Iowa school districts and school districts located in relative proximity to CBiRC partner institutions. The pre-college programs focus primarily on grades 6-12 with a mission to effectively impart in the next generation of students the relevance of engineering professions; the skills required to succeed and the value in our technological society. The technical content of the pre-college education program will include the broader biorenewables area including both chemicals and biofuels.

For more information click this link.

University of Iowa College of Education: Colorado Field Geology Course, Saturday, July 11th - Sunday, July 19th

Learn the basic concepts of physical, historical, and environmental geology of the Rocky Mountains in the context of mineral exploration, mining, and the environment.

This course has been offered to K-12 inservice and preservice teachers for over 25 years. It includes a teaching suite of basic igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks and rock forming minerals and curriculum development projects.

Ted Neal and John Dunkhase will team-teach the course.

For more information click this link

Office of Biotechnology/Iowa Biotech Assn

Summer Training Courses for Educators

The 2015 summer workshops offered by the Office of Biotechnology at Iowa State University are designed especially for educators in public and private schools or those who work with youth in 4-H or other community programs. Educators are invited to attend one or more of the workshops to strengthen and update their STEM-based curriculums with modern content, techniques, and activities in biotechnology and bioethics, while earning professional development or ISU graduate credits.

The workshops will be held in the Biotechnology Outreach Education Center (BOEC), 1320 Molecular Biology Building, on the Iowa State campus in Ames. A $50 per day stipend is available to help Iowa teachers cover their costs of attending. ISU Extension and Outreach educators or personnel can receive travel reimbursements of up to $50 per day to help cover their expenses.

Iowa teachers and ISU Extension and Outreach educators who complete any of the workshops are eligible to receive free supplies and equipment for specific lab protocols from the Office of Biotechnology.