Upcoming Events
March 21
Cedar Falls
March 23-25
Cedar Falls
March 31
Cedar Falls
April 7
Scale-Up Awards Announced
April 20
Have an event coming up?
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Northeast Region
of the Iowa
Governor's STEM Advisory Council
Advisory Board
Sue Burrack
Waldorf University
Lisa Chizek
Iowa State
University
Kendra Crooks
Chickasaw County Extension and Outreach
Larry Escalada
University of
Northern Iowa
Heather Fransen
RSM, LLP
Gena Gesing
Northeast Iowa Community College
Seth Harms
West Delaware
High School
Doreen Hayek
University of
Northern Iowa
Marla Loecke
IowaWorks
Allison Plunkett
John Deere
Anderson Sainci
City of Dubuque
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Dubuque Senior High School Teacher Receives IOWA STEM Teacher Award |
The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and Kemin Industries have announced the recipients of the 2023 Iowa STEM Teacher Award, sponsored by Kemin Industries.
The Northeast STEM region’s honoree is Greg Moklestad, 9-12 Computer Science and Engineering Instructor at Dubuque Senior High School in Dubuque. Moklestad was recognized for his work in reimagining the school’s engineering program and bringing new life to the subject, as seen by increased enrollment in his classes and the need for additional courses to meet interest levels. He recognizes that success in the 21st century revolves around a healthy STEM education and focuses on creating strong relationships with his students and providing access to real-world experiences to increase awareness of STEM opportunities.
As a recipient of the 2023 Iowa STEM Teacher Award, Moklestad will receive $1,500 to use for his classroom and $1,500 for personal use. He recently received his award at his school and will later be honored, along with fellow recipients, in a recognition ceremony during STEM day at the Fair at the Iowa State Fair.
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Left to right: Heidi Hall (Kemin Industries), Greg Molkestad, and Jeff Beneke (Northeast Iowa STEM Council) |
Molkestad created a partnership with the John Deere Dubuque Works Facility where students have the opportunity to work on intern level engineering projects with John Deere engineer mentors. His work on this trail-blazing program will not only benefit students at his school, but also allows for other schools to partner with John Deere using structures similar to what he set up.
Now in its ninth year, the Iowa STEM Teacher Award is given annually to one full-time, licensed preK-12 teacher from each of the six STEM regions in Iowa. Each recipient is honored for their efforts to foster enthusiasm and inspire a passion for STEM that goes beyond the classroom and helps prepare students for future high-demand careers.
As a recipient of the 2023 Iowa STEM Teacher Award, Moklestad will receive $1,500 to use for his classroom and $1,500 for personal use. He recently received his award at his school and will later be honored, along with fellow recipients, in a recognition ceremony during STEM day at the Fair at the Iowa State Fair. For more information about the award and all current and previous recipients, please visit https://iowastem.org/teacheraward.
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Families are Invited to Attend the
Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival
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Students and their Families are invited to attend the Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival on Tuesday, March 21 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the University of Northern Iowa Dome, 2501 Hudson Rd., Cedar Falls, Iowa. The festival is free and open to the public.
Organized like a street festival or county fair, visitors stroll from activity to activity at their leisure. All ages are welcome to attend. Exhibits will feature interactive STEM activities for students and their families. Attendees may conduct amazing science experiments, observe and interact with robots, perform surgery with a Laparoscopic Surgical Trainer, experience virtual reality, measure electricity usage of common electronic devices, and much more! The goals of the festival are to promote, inspire and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities and to introduce youth and their parents to STEM careers.
To expedite registration when you arrive, we have created an express registration. Please fill in the blanks and circle your responses for All attendees. Bring the completed form with you the day of the event and turn it in at the registration desk. For other languages, click here.
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The Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by the Northeast Region of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council, at the University of Northern Iowa, in partnership with Cedar Falls Community School District, Waterloo Community Schools, Central Rivers Area Education Agency, Hawkeye Community College, John Deere, University of Northern Iowa STEM, and Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley. |
Iowa STEM Council Seeks
Teacher Extern Hosts in the
Energy Industry
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The Iowa STEM Council is seeking organizations in the energy industry to host teacher externs this summer. Iowa NEEDS STEM teacher-externs working in, and experiencing authentic work-based situations in order to bring relevance to student learning, awareness of energy careers, as well as connecting teachers to community energy partners. The Iowa STEM Teacher Externship program injects relevance for student learning by placing teachers in a role to solve real world problems at energy host sites for six weeks during the summer. Following that, teachers will share their experiences with students in relation to the STEM subjects they teach. The Iowa STEM Council will support 10 new STEM Teacher Energy Externs per year with energy host workplaces for a 6-week period during the summer. Teachers will develop project-based learning units aligned to state standards/ curricular goals. Past hosts include; Alliant Energy, MidAmerican Energy, Renewable Energy Group, McGregor Municipal Utilities, Allamakee-Clayton REC and Cedar Falls Utilities. If your organization is interested in learning more, please visit https://iowastem.org/externships-host-interest by April 14. Below are the stories from three teachers that participated last summer.
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Madyson Larson McGregor Municipal Utilities, Allamakee-Clayton REC
At McGregor Municipal Utilities, Madyson (MFL MarMac Middle School) evaluated their current solar policy to see if changes could be made and to determine if it would be profitable/useful to change their maximum kW used for residential solar. She reached out to other similar-sized utility companies to see what their policies are to base her recommendations on. She also helped search for a backup generator for one of the wells, and did PR-related projects, looking at how to have the community more involved.
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Autumn Weaver and Barbara Bates Cedar Falls Utilities
Autumn (Cedar Falls High School) and Barbara (Waverly-Shell Rock High School) worked collaboratively at Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) by creating educational communications. Topics included Power vs. Energy, Passive Cooling, Benefits of Trees and Insulation, and Historical Cost of Energy. They created graphic flyers, education FAQs sheets, and hands-on educational activities. The purpose was to improve community understanding and awareness of CFU’s energy production and usage.
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To hear from Iowa employers about their teacher externship experience, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwbAvSEets4.
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Midwest FIRST Robotics Competition
is March 23-25
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Combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology, the FIRST Robotics Competition Iowa Regional will bring together more than 50 teams from the Midwest and beyond to compete in the University of Northern Iowa McLeod Center. Each high school team will design, build, and program their robot to play this year’s game. During each match, witness two brand-new alliances of 3 robots each face off against each other. Come join us as we celebrate 8 years of FIRST Robotics Competition Regional events for Iowa teams!
Saturday is the perfect day for family participation in the Iowa Regional. Concessions will be open from 12:30 to 4:30 pm on Saturday. Park in the West Dome or South parking lots. Parking is $TBD/car. Admission is Free. If you can't make it Saturday, the event is open on Thursday from 8:30 am through 6:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am through 5:45 pm.
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Science Education Update Conference occurs March 31 |
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Science Education Update Conference for current and future teachers is scheduled for Friday, March 31, 2023 on the UNI campus. The one-day conference focuses on issues and topics related to PreK-12 science and STEM featuring breakout and workshop sessions as well as exhibits and keynote presentations.
Participants will be provided the instructional resources and strategies that can be implemented in the classrooms. The conference is free to participants and includes lunch and snacks throughout the day as well as limited substitute teacher reimbursements.
Stop by the Northeast Iowa STEM Hub exhibit booth to learn about the Iowa STEM Council programs.
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