The University of Northern Iowa has been awarded nearly $5 million from the National Science Foundation to lead a new initiative aimed at strengthening STEM education in rural elementary schools. The five-year grant of $4,918,593 will fund the National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot Program: Midwest Alliance for Rural Elementary Science….
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Executive Order 14 on Aug. 16 directing the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council “to ensure that every Iowa student in every geographic location and from every background has access to cutting-edge educational opportunities.” The STEM Advisory Council was first established in July 2011 by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and chaired…
NewBoCo, a nonprofit headquartered in Cedar Rapids offering entrepreneurship and tech education programming, recently announced a partnership with Iowa State University for the Future City event. The event is a STEM competition for middle school students to research, design and build future cities that showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue. The…
Christian Frantz, who is blind and has autism and ADHD, attended a career fair designed to show blind and low-vision high school students that they belong in STEM fields. “My message to anyone with disabilities [is] don’t let others say you can’t, because you can,” Frantz, 20, said in the…
Jewels Academy, a Des Moines-based nonprofit providing STEM and self-enrichment programs for underrepresented girls, is hosting its fourth annual fundraiser today, Sept. 19, at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens at 6 p.m. To RSVP, click here. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Sue Mattison, provost at Drake University. Mattison provides…
First year’s projects further sustainability, STEM education After having 26 local groups participate in community initiatives during last year’s Des Moines Community Challenge, ChangeX and the Microsoft West Des Moines data center complex are offering another $75,000 in a combined grant to fund the project for a second year. The new…
Sian Proctor, a geoscientist and the pilot of SpaceX’s all-civilian Inspiration4 flight, will speak at the Advancing Women in Leadership event to be hosted by the Greater Des Moines Partnership on Nov. 2. Proctor became the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft with her role on the SpaceX flight,…
A $10,000 Bayer Fund grant will support the Science Center of Iowa’s new program Making Tech Connections, a professional development program for educators teaching students employment skills in computing, algorithms and programming. Making Tech Connections will also show educators how to incorporate liberal arts competencies into STEM education. In 2020,…
Pursuit of Innovation 515’s annual Jumbo Jenga Tournament returns next month with the goal of raising funds for Pi515’s technical equipment, food and transportation provided to underserved and refugee youth in the STEM education program. The Jumbo Jenga Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 2 at the Windsor Heights Community Center, from…
Iowa students who participate in STEM Scale-Up programs in their schools are more likely to express an interest in staying in the state to pursue their careers. And Iowa’s public and private universities are increasing the number of STEM-related certificate and degree programs available to high school graduates. These were…