The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has awarded 118 STEM BEST® Programs since 2014 with an opportunity to grow a series of community collaborations involving school+business partnerships. Working side-by-side, teachers and industry professionals will craft curriculum and projects that prepare students for exciting career pathways in the STEM fields of manufacturing, information technology, bioscience (agriculture and medicine), finance, and more.

Applicants may apply for a grant up to $25,000 with a required 1:1 match, up to $25,000. The match may be either cash and/or in-kind support. The match may be contributed by the applicant or a partner. To be eligible as match, the cash and/or in-kind contribution must be provided during the funding period of the STEM BEST® Program award.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: May 9, 2022

Questions

Visit https://iowastem.org/STEMBEST or contact Jeff Beneke at 319-273-7397.

Exhibitor registration is open for the Dubuque & Decorah Family STEM Festivals.

Who is invited to exhibit?

What are we looking for?

The Dubuque STEM Festival will be held on Thursday, April 7 from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the University of Dubuque Chlapaty Center.

The deadline to register to exhibit is Monday, March 21.

To learn more, visit https://neiowastem.com/dubuque-area-family-stem-festival

The Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival - Decorah will be held on Thursday, April 28 from 4:00-7:00 PM at the Luther College Regents Center in Decorah

The deadline to register to exhibit is Monday, April 11.

To learn more, visit https://neiowastem.com/northeast-iowa-family-stem-festival-decorah

The 2022 Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Annual Conference is in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place + McCormick Place West Building on July 14-17, 2022!

INTENDED AUDIENCE: CSTA Iowa Members, educators serving in Computer Science is Elementary program schools, and Iowa educators responsible for delivering computer science focused learning (this includes dedicated CS courses or those integrating CS into core content areas).

EDUCATION LEADERS: We ask that educators serving outside of classrooms (such as instructional coaches, administrators, and AEA consultants) provide a half-page memo detailing current computer science efforts in your school/organization, your role, and the anticipated benefit of attending the conference. You will receive an email prompting you to submit the memo with directions after submitting this survey.

Please register to confirm your spot as part of the Iowa CSTA Conference Scholarship opportunity brought to you by the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council (Iowa STEM) and CSTA Iowa.

The Iowa CSTA Conference Scholarship will cover CSTA+ membership for one year, the 2022 CSTA Conference registration, travel (costs reimbursed to district), lodging (1 educator per room for 3 nights) and PD course with one-hour licensure renewal registration included.

Educators will be responsible for food (not provided with conference registration) and any additional out-of-pocket costs.

Capacity is limited. First come, first served. Registration deadline is April 30, 2022. Late registrants may be placed on a waiting list.

The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council announced 38 school districts throughout Iowa are recipients of the STEM BEST H.D. (High Demand) Program award. The STEM BEST H.D. Program is designed to prepare students for the workforce through curriculum focused on skills needed in job sectors such as

computer science/information technology, healthcare professions and advanced manufacturing.

Central Community School District

Clayton County BEST will expand with industrial technology area to offer an Advanced Manufacturing component to the program. Students will have the opportunity to operate a small manufacturing business that can meet a community need while building both business and manufacturing skills.

At Dike-New Harford, a more relevant and vibrant industrial technology curriculum will be developed. Specifically, improvements will be made to facility and equipment to offer courses in advanced welding, CNC machining, product development and enterprise, and laser fabrication.

Dubuque Community School District will increase student awareness of quality careers available in advanced manufacturing in the Northeast Iowa Region, by updating and improving advanced manufacturing programming and curriculum through engagement of local business partners to provide a variety of work-based learning experiences for students.

The current MFL MarMac STEM BEST will expand to develop a new drone technology / precision agriculture program to enhance the rigor and future-ready offerings of the school’s agriculture program. This will also expand the efforts of the new authentic learning program specialized area of computer science and information technology within the agriculture program.

An additional Career Program Pathways will be offered in Cyber Security to be a part of the Computer Science/IT pathway at the Waterloo career center for the 2022-2023 school year. The ultimate goal is for students to leave with certifications (Security Pro, COMP TIA certification & other ethical hacking certifications), Work-Based Learning experience and leave prepared to continue post secondary plans in a career or technical program focused around Computer Science/IT.

Combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology, the FIRST Robotics Competition Iowa Regional will bring together more than 40 teams from the Midwest to compete in the University of Northern Iowa McLeod Center. Each high school team will design, build, and program their robot to play this year’s game, Rapid React. During each match, witness two brand-new alliances of 3 robots each face off against each other. Come join us as we celebrate 7 years of FIRST Robotics Competition Regional events for Iowa teams!

Saturday is the perfect day for family participation in the Iowa Regional. Park in the West Dome or South parking lots. Admission is Free, but there is a cost for parking. If you can't make it Saturday, the event is open on Thursday from 8:30 am through 6:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am through 5:45 pm. Masks are required to enter the venue.

Learn more about the FIRST Robotics Competition Iowa Regional. 

The UNI Science Education Update Conference is a one-day conference for current and future teachers. The conference focuses on issues and topics related to K-12 science and STEM, featuring breakout and workshop sessions, exhibits and access to instructional resources and strategies that can be implemented in the classroom.

The conference is scheduled for April 1, 2022 at the University of Northern Iowa.

For more information, go to https://chas.uni.edu/science-ed/outreach/science-education-update-conference