Winter landscape panorama - forest and snow
January, 2022
North Central STEM Region
Monthly News

In this Issue
Register for Discovering Careers in STEM Webinar
STEM Scale-Up Application NOW OPEN
Getting Started on a Makerspace
Register Your Classroom
Discovering Careers in STEM Webinar
February 22, 1-2 PM
In celebration of Engineering Week, a panel of STEM professionals will discuss their career journey and personal interest in STEM careers. We welcome classrooms to submit their questions for the panel! The primary audience includes; high school and middle school students as well as teachers and counselors. The webinar will be recorded and available to view at anytime.
Our Panelists:
Mason Berg
Process Development Engineer II, Renewable Energy Group
Jason Grabe
Manufacturing Engineer, 3M
Matthew Stephan
Production Manager, Cargill
Anh Tran
Environmental Engineer, Renewable Energy Group
Kerry Weig
Principal, INVISION Architecture
NEW 2022-2023 STEM Scale-Up Application
Now Open!
The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is now accepting applications for the STEM Scale-Up Program. These programs are FREE for PreK-12 educators in formal and informal education settings. See program descriptions below! Link to full menu of programs click HERE. The application period for the STEM Scale-Up Program closes on February 28, 2022.


Daily Math Fluency, Grade Level: K-8
Ioponics, Grade Level: PreK-12
Project GUTS, Grade Level: 6-9
Ready, Set, Drone!, Grade Level: 4-8
Tiny Techies, Grade Level: PreK-2
Waterworks, Grade Level: PreK-2

For information regarding the application process or the programs, contact Kelly Bergman, kbergman@iastate.edu, or call 515-203-7247. 
Makerspace Guide! Taking the First Steps
Guest Article by Teresa Green
STEM Teacher
North Central Iowa STEM Advisory Board Member
2018 Iowa STEM Teacher of the Year Award Recipient


Interested in implementing a makerspace in a corner of your classroom or as a separate room in your building, but not quite sure how to begin? A simple internet search will provide you with resources, but it can also completely overwhelm any beginner.

Every makerspace varies depending on the organization’s goal. The underlying themes of these spaces, however, are collaboration, discovery, exploration, creativity, building, tinkering, failing, trying again, and, most importantly, sharing in learned experiences. As each space is unique in its atmosphere, character, and what it produces, there are no hard and fast rules. It’s truly a matter of igniting your students’ curiosities and helping them explore while learning.

Educational makerspaces have come a long way since they came onto the learning scene. There are now companies that create mobile carts that can travel from classroom to classroom and are stocked with various STEM learning tools. But, for a simple classroom, it isn’t necessary to spend a massive budget to create a STEM maker corner for your students. A few basic supplies and a stack of project task cards, problems to solve, or ideas to create will get your kids building, tinkering and exploring in no time.

A first step to creating your makerspace is understanding who it will serve and knowing the appropriate tools for the population. A second concern is if your makerspace will have supervision or if students will work without guidance. And finally, what types of challenges, tasks, projects or outcomes are appropriate for the population the space will serve.

With these decisions in mind, the next step is to find or design learning challenges, projects, or idea-starters for your students to explore. These can be one-time creations that students take home or can be short activities with reusable supplies. There are literally hundreds of project and challenge websites where you can find great age-appropriate challenges and supply ideas. To start your journey, I’ve only listed a few.

Makerspaces.com is a wonderful site for everything one needs to get started. A sub page of this site - 25 Makerspace Projects for Kids - is another excellent resource to begin your journey. Invent to Learn - the book that helped to launch the maker movement - has a wonderful resource page on all things Maker. Finally, Science Buddies is a free resource that has hands-on science projects for home and for school.

Once you have a plan, you can gather the necessary materials your students will need. The websites listed above include links to supply lists that are essential to any makerspace. Acquiring the materials, however, is another issue, and this is where creative crowdsourcing for supplies is extremely helpful. Petition your parents and students for cardboard and leftover craft supplies as well as junk electronics. It is also helpful to reach out to school parent organizations as well as local businesses for materials and funds. If you have the writing skills, the time, and the passion, there are numerous corporate grants that you can apply for.

Keep in mind, however, that you don’t need to have every supply on the list in order to create a maker environment. Start small and simple and just keep adding and building to your inventory and project list. Before you realize it, you’ll have a full-blown makerspace for your students. 
Calendar of Events

February 9
STEM Day at the Capitol 

February 22
Discovering Careers in STEM Webinar

February 28
STEM Scale-Up Applications Close

March 29
NC STEM Advisory Board Meeting

Contact Us
NC Regional Manager:
Dr. Kelly Bergman
Phone:
515-203-7247
E-mail:
kbergman@iastate.edu
Website:
ncstemhub.iastate.edu
Address:
Iowa State University
1259 Stange Rd
Ames, IA 50011-1002