 Iowa STEM's annual STEM Day at the Fair is held the last Sunday of the Iowa State Fair. It offers fairgoers the chance to try out free, hands-on STEM activities, exposing them to potential future careers in STEM. One popular activity this year let kids explore non-Newtonian fluids with a mixture simple household products.
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.
 Dan Harbeke, Regional Head of Public Policy and External Affairs at Google, announces a $100,000 donation from Google to Iowa STEM during STEM Day at the Fair.
The Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education is receiving significant funding from Google to support its STEM programming across the State of Iowa.
At this year’s annual STEM Day at the Fair, Dan Harbeke, Google Regional Head of Public Policy and External Affairs, announced a $100,000 grant to the STEM Council to enhance and grow its signature STEM programs – STEM BEST, Scale-Up and STEM Teacher Externships. The grant will help support the STEM Council’s mission throughout the year to increase awareness, achievement and interest in STEM education for Iowa students.
“Google is proud to call Iowa home and support programming that helps prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow,” said Dan Harbeke, Regional Head of Public Policy and External Affairs at Google. “The STEM Council is helping establish a strong foundation for a highly-skilled workforce by providing access to computer science education like STEM BEST and Scale-Up. We’re thrilled to be one of the many employers that can then help keep these students in Iowa when they graduate with technology jobs and career growth opportunities.”
Iowa STEM’s signature programs focus on offering teachers resources to provide exemplary STEM education for Iowa students. This in turn exposes them to potential careers in manufacturing, information technology, biosciences like agriculture and medicine, finance and more.
Iowa STEM’s Scale-Up Program builds a foundation of both hard and soft skills as students explore STEM fields, providing high-quality STEM education programs to PK-12 youth along with training for educators to implement effectively.
The STEM BEST Program connects teachers to industry professionals, working together to craft curriculum and projects that prepare students for exciting STEM careers local to their community. The STEM Teacher Externship program goes a step further to expose educators to STEM careers their students might pursue, working side-by-side with industry partners for six weeks over the summer to gain real world knowledge, and to provide teachers the opportunity to incorporate actual applications used by employers into lesson plans.
The funds will benefit Iowa’s future by investing in this high-quality STEM programming for our students, while also preparing Iowa teachers through STEM education programs.
 Iowa STEM is seeking exemplary STEM programs for the 2025-2026 STEM Scale-Up Program menu.
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.
 Micaela Sciarrotta (left) and Summer Teed (right) help youth get onto their paddleboards during Water Sports Day Camp. Both were Iowa STEM Teacher Externs this summer hosted at Jasper County Conservation.
Seventy-nine 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 state.
This past summer, Summer Teed and Micaela Sciarrotta were two educators completing a six-week externship with Jasper County Conservation.
Teed is a science teacher at Colfax Mingo Junior-Senior High School, and Sciarrotta is a fourth grade teacher at Aurora Heights Elementary in Newton. Both teachers have helped with numerous camps and conservation programs this summer, working alongside skilled naturalists to bring the classroom curriculum to life.
The Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program benefits both the participating teachers and the local workplace hosts. Teachers connect their content expertise, along with what is taught in the classroom, to real-world applications, as well as what job skills and knowledge are needed for successful careers. In return, externship workplace hosts get significant projects completed by talented and industrious teachers. Jasper County benefits from Teed’s and Sciarrotta’s externships by having area educators provide insight as it updates its own programming for upcoming school visits and field trips in addition to Teed and Sciarrotta planning their own summer programs.
“One of the highlights of my summer was getting to plan my own camp based on my expertise,” Teed said.
Teed crafted an Astronomy camp this year including a scale model of the solar system and hands-on engineering activities.
“It’s really about making science fun. And being a teacher, it’s about making learning fun,” Sciarotta said.
Sciarotta highlighted the benefits saying the kids get to “work on some other skills they wouldn’t in the classroom” and that she “loves watching the kids be interested in something.”
The Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program is supported through state-appropriated funds; investments by Iowa business, industry and community partners; and grant funding, including the Iowa Economic Development Authority Grant #21-ARRA-001, Iowa STEM Energy Teacher Externships, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Education Program Grant #24-07. This year’s contributions from workplace hosts total approximately $141,000 in addition to the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council investment.
By forging extern/workplace host matches in the local community, school-business partnerships can develop and last through the following school year and beyond to enhance the community’s future workforce. This ultimately helps make students more aware of the skills needed for job opportunities in STEM right where they live.
As for anyone considering the Iowa STEM Teacher Externship program, both Teed and Sciarrotta recommend the program.
“Just try it,” Teed said. “These are definitely experiences that I would not have had otherwise and a way to build connections within the community.”
Sciarrotta touted the additional benefits of the program for externs, including receiving a participant stipend for their time and earning graduate credits.
“Definitely apply. It’s a lot of fun,” Sciarrotta said. “I think you’ll feel rejuvenated and excited.”
For more information on the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program through the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council, visit the Department’s website.
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.
The Iowa Department of Education is seeking science educators and stakeholders to serve on a statewide committee to review and update the statewide academic standards for science.
The standards outline what students must learn to be prepared for success as they progress each year and after high school.
The committee will meet regularly for two months starting in October and look into updated research and practices, recommending changes to the standards when appropriate. These meetings will be a combination of live and virtual.
State standards across all subjects are reviewed regularly to ensure the content is current and aligns with best practices.
Following this work, the Department will seek public input on the proposed changes, which will inform and help them refine revisions to the standards. A final standards proposal will go before the State Board of Education for consideration. If adopted, the revised science standards will be required of school districts. In all, the review, revision and adoption process can take up to seven months.
The deadline to apply for the committee is Sept. 11. Questions regarding science standards and the work of the state review team can be directed to Christopher Like, education program consultant for science, at chris.like@iowa.gov.
About Iowa’s academic standards: Iowa’s academic standards provide a set of common expectations for school districts across the state while allowing for decisions regarding curriculum and how it is delivered to be made locally. The standards establish what students must learn to be prepared for success after high school. Local schools and educators continue to set and oversee curriculum and instruction decisions.
In addition to science, Iowa’s academic standards also cover literacy, mathematics, social studies and 21st-century skills, such as financial literacy. They also include recommended standards for computer science, fine arts, physical education and health. New mathematics and literacy standards were adopted by the State Board of Education earlier this year.
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The Iowa Department of Education is accepting nominations for the prestigious U.S. Presidential Scholars program. Educators, family members and community partners are invited to nominate students with outstanding achievements in academics or career and technical education (CTE). The Department will review all nominations and select up to 25 students to submit for the national recognition program. Along with their accomplishments in academics and CTE programs, a student’s history of leadership, community involvement and perseverance through challenges will also be considered. |
The deadline to submit a nomination is Sept. 30. Nomination forms and additional information can be found on the Department’s Presidential Scholars webpage. Specific questions on the nominating process for the 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholars program can be directed to Amanda Loder at amanda.loder@iowa.gov.
Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council
Iowa Department of Education
214 East Bartlett Hall
University of Northern Iowa
515-335-1531
info@IowaSTEM.org
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