Autumn is AweSTEM in Iowa

West Delaware students consult with designers on the remodel of their chemistry lab
STEM is in full swing across Iowa this fall, including eighteen STEM BEST sites connecting schools and businesses. Here, DelCo BEST (West Delaware) students consult with designers and salespeople on the remodel of their Chemistry Lab.

As leaves and temperatures begin to fall, the STEM learning takes off across Iowa each autumn. Some 44 2 educators fan out to clubs and classrooms throughout the state to implement their summer STEM Scale-Up Program training, inspiring about 300 young Iowans. Down the hall perhaps one of the state's 150 implementers of the Microsoft Imagine Academy is preparing a few of the 18 3 students who will emerge next spring with Microsoft credentials. Next door might be one of 62 educators back from a summer STEM Teacher Externship linking lessons to soft skills, safety consciousness and problem-solving so vital to modern workplaces.

On the remote chance that student attention spans may wane, Iowa Air National Guard pilot Major Jen, posterized on 5,000 classroom walls this fall, will capture their imaginations as Iowa's 2017 STEM Gem. Another two dozen educators across the state are connecting labs and lessons to local issues and industries after pioneering the first STEM Professional Development Palooza. And a few hundred young Iowans are treated to exceptional learning in the hands of six freshly minted I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Awardees (sponsored by Kemin Industries), to join twelve from previous years.

Outside of school this fall, scores of youth and families eagerly build on the spark of a summer STEM Festival or STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair. And learning at the library, zoo, nature center, museum or 4-H Club will complement the excitement of the classroom with scores of informal educators trained now in the Dimensions of Success (DoS) approach thanks to the Council's Active Learning Community Partners.

These and more STEM activities warm the mind against the chill of fall. Autumn is aweSTEM in Iowa. 

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