Southwest Iowa STEM Regional Newsletter: August 2024

Check out the amazing work the Southwest Externs did this summer!

Nine Southwest Iowa teachers will head back to the classroom this fall with newfound knowledge after participating in the 2024 Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program, courtesy of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education. 

This program provides teachers the opportunity to work at a vast array of local workplaces to gain STEM-related work experience that can be applied in the classroom. Since its launch in 2009, the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has organized more than 800 teacher externship experiences throughout the Southwest Region.

• In the Southwest, there were 9 Externs at 8 different workplace host locations, including 5 brand-new hosts.
• Here is a look at what and where the Southwest Externs were over the summer!

September 10 Deadline Looming – Don’t Miss Out on Your Chance to Be a STEM Scale-Up Program Provider!

STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair was held on Sunday, August 18. Partners from across Iowa provided the chance to engage in hands-on, experiential learning on the Grand Concourse, including engineering towers, constructing electrical circuits, immersive virtual reality welding, launching straw rockets, engaging with creatures and plants native to Iowa and more. Concurrent to what was happening on the Grand Concourse, partners were also presenting Stage Acts demonstrating the wonders of the natural world, the importance of our multi-legged friends on Earth and science experiments at the MidAmerican Energy Stage. 

One highlight of this year’s event was the high altitude balloon launched from the Grand Concourse in partnership with NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium, Iowa 4-H Youth Development and Make to Innovate Lab. Prior to the launch, remarks were made by Governor Kim Reynolds; Governor’s STEM Advisory Council Co-Chair and Director of Technical Services/Owner of Foundation Analytical Laboratory, Inc., Diane Young; Google Regional Head of Public Policy and External Affairs Dan Harbeke; and Rear Admiral Robert Nowakowski.



“STEM Day at the Fair is a great opportunity for kids to see how fun the world of STEM can be,” said Justin Lewis, Bureau Chief for Iowa STEM. “Kids are engaged and excited to learn about each thing our exhibitors have to share. To them it is playtime, but as parents, educators and professionals, we know they are building a solid foundation of curiosity and interest in science, technology, engineering and math.” 

Our sincerest thanks to all of the businesses, organizations and volunteers who made STEM Day at the Fair another success this year. We look forward to doing it again next year. Mark your calendars for August 17, 2025! 

STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair 2024 was sponsored by Alliant Energy, Collins Aerospace, Google and MidAmerican Energy.

September 10 Deadline Looming – Don’t Miss Out on Your Chance to Be a STEM Scale-Up Program Provider!

Time is running out for prospective program providers to apply for a chance to be part of the 2025-2026 STEM Scale-Up menu. Iowa STEM is looking for developers and deliverers of exemplary STEM programs to apply to scale their program(s) throughout the State of Iowa. The STEM Scale-Up program brings world-class STEM education opportunities to all learners across Iowa. The intent is to seed, jumpstart or introduce little-known and exemplary STEM lessons, curriculum, enrichment activities and other programs proven to inspire and educate preK-12 students in both formal and informal settings across Iowa.

Priority fields for scaling in Iowa include agricultural science; applied engineering; computational thinking; ecology and energy education; mathematics, especially applied and contextual to students’ lives; STEM and arts integration; STEM careers (especially with local context) – ideally an element of any STEM Scale-Up Program proposal; STEM programming that integrates into existing curriculum; and transdisciplinary (integrated) S-T-E-M. Proposals for other topical fields will also be considered.

The annual scaling of selected programs to educators across Iowa is supported by a generous annual* appropriation by the Iowa legislature alongside private sector investments. A complete profile of Iowa’s STEM Scale-Up initiative, including past programs scaled, may be accessed at: educate.iowa.gov/pk-12/iowa-stem/stem-scale. 

The application window is open now and will close on September 10, 2024 at 4:59 p.m.  Start an application in IowaGrants today or find additional information including the review rubric on our website. 

Please direct questions regarding Iowa’s STEM Scale-Up Program to info@IowaSTEM.org or 515-271-2403.



* The FY2025 level of state investment for STEM Scale-Up is approximately $3.4 million. That figure is subject to change annually.

Register for the Fall State Science Professional Development

The Iowa Department of Education, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Science Teachers Section of the Iowa Academy of Science and host institutions, has announced three dates for professional development that will reinforce best practices in science instruction, strengthen professional connections and allow continued learning. Teachers, administrators, coaches, higher education methods instructors, preservice teachers and others interested in enhancing the experiences for students in science courses are encouraged to register for one of the three dates.

The upcoming regional science professional development opportunities will be held at the following locations: 

●    Oct. 1 at Drake University

●    Oct. 8 at University of Northern Iowa

●    Oct. 24 at Morningside University

This year, the professional development opportunity will expand on the theme of active student sensemaking of relevant phenomena. Attendees will be immersed in grade-level specific classroom experiences in the morning and will have several exciting options to choose from for the afternoon.

This opportunity is the major science professional development for the 2024-25 school year. Each school district should send at least one representative to the learning event.



Registration is open through Sept. 13. There is no cost to attend, and lunch will be provided. Questions can be directed to Christopher Like at chris.like@iowa.gov.