2015 Seal of Approval Recipients
March 2015
STEM Family Free Night at The Iowa Children’s Museum
The Iowa Children's Museum and Rockwell Collins funded STEM Family Free Night, which has served approximately 36,000 children and adults from 2012-2014. The program not only has successfully delivered integrated STEM active learning to the community, helping the public to better understand how critical STEM education is to our future, but it has also successfully collaborated with diverse organizations to highlight STEM careers including Rockwell Collins, UI College of Medicine, Wendall Johnson Speech & Hearing Clinic, Children’s Center for Therapy, UI Dental School, and New Pioneer Coop.
Exploring Iowa Archaeology program of the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
OSA Education and Outreach staff develop and present a variety of “Exploring Iowa Archaeology” activities for classrooms and classroom visits to the OSA that are interdisciplinary, inquiry-based, hands-on, and customizable for all grade levels based on current classroom content and teacher needs. All activities are place-based and emphasize what is special about the archaeological, cultural, and environmental history of Iowa and the school’s own community.
Lewis Central Middle School’s eighth grade STEM program
The program work to include community members as appropriate with the project students are working on at the time. Students will build on three big ideas, using a culminating project to discover a deeper understanding of each content as they work together to complete the project.
Math Counts and Science Rocks at the Vermeer Yellow Iron Academy
In Math Counts, children use scoops to select how much or little portions of each item they will take. Children pour their own milk, using language such as "half full" and count how many of something is on their plate (Example: I have 5 green beans, how many do you have?") In Science Rocks, children talk about the colors of the different foods, what is healthy, portion sizes, and controlling germs.
Nature STEM Camp program, a joint venture of Sibley-Ocheyedan School District, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Osceola County and City of Sibley Recreation Department
During Nature STEM camp, students are immersed in activities focusing on the world of flora and fauna around them. Stations during Nature STEM camp included determining water quality, how to fish, the biodiversity of our local wetlands, how organisms all work together in an ecosystem and how ecologists conduct population studies. Students conduct several “hands-on” experiments and engage in activities that will help them learn about the interconnectedness of organisms in a natural community. Camp participants use various technologies, including wireless probes, to collect data and form claims.
June 2015
Agriculture in the Classroom program of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation
The program seeks to improve student achievement by applying authentic, agricultural-based content as the context to teach core curriculum concepts in science, social studies, language arts, and nutrition, cultivating an understanding and appreciation of the food and fiber system that we all rely on every day.
Wednesday Workshops at the Science Center of Iowa
These workshops encourage a “Makers Movement” in Iowa, teaching how to prototype, test, experiment, invent, and innovate with STEM. It’s helping promote values like creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, and self-expression—all skills necessary to fill jobs in the world’s fastest-growing industries.
Youth Environmental Agriculture Field Days with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
These events introduce students to an array of products that can be derived from corn and soybeans, the process for adding value to agricultural products, safe interaction with chemicals, and the role of biofuels in Iowa’s energy consumption and production. Along with that, students experience concepts related to safety and how we interact with our environment.
CoderDojo Muscatine
The mission of CoderDojo Muscatine is to introduce kids ages 5-15 to the magic of STEM through introductory computer programming. Each two-hour, bi-monthly event features Scratch programming, Sphero robots, Code Academy, and Code.org activities.
October 2015
AAUW Tech Trek at Simspon College
The AAUW Tech Trek Camp at Simpson College is a week-long residential STEM camp for girls entering 8th grade in Warren and Polk Counties in Iowa. This Tech Trek Camp is part of AAUW’s national programming designed to develop interest, excitement, and self-confidence in STEM fields for girls.