January 2025

Newsletter

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Jeff Beneke
Northeast Regional STEM Manager


319-273-7397




In this newsletter:




  • PreK-12 Educators May Apply for STEM Scale-Up Programs starting January 7





  • Requesting Exhibitors for the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival in Waukon








Upcoming Events



January 7

Scale-Up Application opens




February 12

STEM Day at the Capitol

Des Moines




March 3

Scale-Up Application Deadline





March 26-30

FIRST Iowa Regional

(UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls)





April 24

Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival

Waukon




Have an event

coming up?



Submit it here!



Northeast Region

of the Iowa

Governor's STEM Advisory Council



Advisory Board



Bev Berns

Keystone AEA



Sue Burrack

Waldorf University



Lisa Chizek

Iowa State

University



Kendra Crooks

Chickasaw County Extension and Outreach



Larry Escalada

University of

Northern Iowa



Heather Fransen

RSM, LLP



Seth Harms

West Delaware

High School



Doreen Hayek

University of

Northern Iowa



Jeff Jacobs

TDS Automation



Marla Loecke

IowaWorks



Jeanette Moore-Loggins

(Retired)



Allison Plunkett

John Deere



Anderson Sainci

City of Dubuque




PreK-12 Educators May Apply for

STEM Scale-Up Programs

Starting January 7

The Iowa STEM Advisory Council selects some of the state and nation's high-quality programs and offers them to Iowa PreK-12 educators through the STEM Scale-Up Program. Each year, the STEM Council equips thousands of educators with STEM programs that inspire nearly 100,000 youth.



PreK-12 educators from the following organizations may apply.

  • Public and private PreK-12 schools
  • Childcare centers
  • County conservation offices
  • Libraries
  • County extension offices
  • Home school associations
  • Other formal and informal youth organizations who deliver STEM education programming for PreK-12 youth.


Some Program Provider's will be hosting a 20-30 minute informational webinar for educators to learn about their respective program. The webinar will also be a great opportunity to ask questions about the program.


The Scale-Up Program menu for the 2025-2026 academic year includes the following thirteen programs:



All About Balance

Watch your children become more curious and engaged as they actively explore the role of balance within the world of objects, and with their own bodies.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;

  • January 17 @ 3:45 pm Register (Passcode: 665321)
  • January 23 @ 4:30 pm Register (Passcode: 183131)



Barobo C-STEM Afterschool and Summer Robotics and Robotics-Math Programs

The Barobo C-STEM program addresses this urgent need by integrating coding and robotics into PK-12 math education, using both virtual and hardware robots in a standards-aligned curriculum to enhance engagement and boost achievement.


Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



CodeJoy Presents: Micro:bit in the Wild

The goal of the program is to use micro:bit to teach educators about Environmental Literacy through hands-on activities with Computer Science.




CodeXcursion: Teach Python Coding with CodeX Grades 4-12

A collection of online curricula that teaches math or science through the lens of coding. Students write real, text-based programs which bring to life the core concepts they are learning.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



Drone Designers: Exploring STEAM Careers

The program takes a multidisciplinary approach to introducing learners in grades 4–8 to the world of drones and coding, with an emphasis on their use in the arts and entertainment industries.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;

  • January 28 @ 4:00 pm Register (passcode: Drones)



Getting Started with Elementary OpenSciEd Curriculum

OpenSciEd is more than a curriculum. It's a paradigm shift that reimagines the experience of science education to ensure that all students, regardless of their previous exposure to science, can excel in and outside of the classroom.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



Grow, Create, Innovate: The STEAM-Powered Art

Students engage in standards-aligned activities such as the Reaction Game, exploring physics and chemistry through interactive play; the Operation Game, combining logic with mechanical design; DNA Modeling, merging biology with creative visualization; & building an Automata, integrating engineering with artistic design.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



MathNation.com

The program offers comprehensive resources for middle/high school math. Math Nation+ uses interactive videos, practice tools, and personalized learning paths to engage students in deep mathematical understanding.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



Overcoming Barriers to STEM Engagement: A Cross-Curricular Structural and Wind Energy Project Using Sketching as the First Step

A hands-on project with wind energy technology builds engagement with STEM. This project includes design of a scale tower to support a wind turbine, with load and deflection testing.


Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



Plant the Moon Challenge

The Plant the Moon Challenge is a global science experiment, learning experience, and inspirational project-based-learning challenge. Students compete to see who can grow the best crops using lunar and Martian regolith stimulant.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



Positive Physics, Chemistry, Physical Science, Biology, Environmental Science & Engineering

An engaging, online lesson and problem bank for Middle and High School Science. The site was built by teachers in diverse classrooms and designed to be accessible to students on any level from middle school to AP.


Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



Spintronics: Engineer and Design Mechanical Circuits

Understanding electronics usually requires complex math, but Spintronics allows students to learn through hands-on puzzles. Instead of imagining invisible electrons running through wires, the students can see the chains moving through the sprockets.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;



STEAM Innovators K-8: Pathways for Future Leaders

SAM Labs' STEAM program was designed to make STEM concepts engaging by integrating the arts, blending creativity with science, technology, engineering, and math to foster innovation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.



Informational webinar(s) will be hosted on;

Timeline:

  • January 7 - Application opens
  • March 3 - Application closes
  • April 4 - Awardees notified
  • July 1, 2025 thru May 31, 2026 - Implementation



Please contact Jeff Beneke at jeff.beneke@uni.edu or 319-273-7397 if you have any questions about the programs or the application process.



Visit https://iowastem.org/Scale-Up-Application for further information.

To apply, visit iowagrants.gov. To help traffic flow for new registrants;

Create a user account TODAY through

IowaGrants.gov



Creating an account


It may take up to

72 hours to activate your account.



NOTE: If you already have an account through iowagrants.gov there is no need to do it again.

Requesting Exhibitors for the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival in Waukon



Exhibitor registration is open for the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival.


The Festival will be held on Thursday, April 24 from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the Fairgrounds in Waukon.


Who is invited to exhibit?

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


What are we looking for?


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