Do you have a family-friendly STEM-related demonstration or performance that you would want to present on the biggest stage of the summer, STEM Day at the Minnesota State Fair?  We are now accepting applications for the Dan Patch Park stage on Thursday, August 23, 2018.  STEM Day attracts thousands of fair-goers on the State Fairs opening day.  It’s a great opportunity to wow the crowd with your performance, excite them in STEM concepts, and sneak in some education in an entertaining way.  Apply by May 1 here.

The 9th annual SciMathMN STEM Day at the State Fair, Minnesota’s annual celebration of all things STEM will again open the Great Minnesota Get Together, Thursday,  August 23, 2018.  Last year over 13,000 fair goers visited Dan Patch park to enjoy a broad variety of hands-on activities in robotics, aeronautics and aerospace, programming, modern manufacturing, health care, and other STEM fields.  The event attracts a wide variety of fair goers with a growing number of families coming the first day of the fair specifically to attend STEM Day.  Groups wishing to apply to be an exhibitor can apply here.  In considering your organizations application please consider the following selection criteria.

First Priority will be given to organizations which meet the following criteria (listed in order of importance):
1. Organization’s mission and purpose pertain to and are based in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
2. Organizations that are willing to collaborate and share exhibit space (if needed).
3. Organizations that provide a hands-on, STEM-based activity focused on children and youth.
4. Organizations from outside the Twin Cities metro area.
5. Organizations new to the STEM Day event.
6. Demonstrated goals to target audience.
7. Appropriateness of planned activity.
8. Organization’s ability to underwrite their activity.

Other factors that influence the committee’s decision:
1. Non-profits must be registered in the state of Minnesota.
2. For-profit companies and organizations are restricted from conducting commercial operations by State Fair policy.
3. Sponsorship of STEM Day.
4. Organizations have a mechanism for community engagement in STEM or a record of volunteer service to the community in STEM activities.
5. Date of submission of the application

Exhibitors are asked to have demonstrations and interactive events centering around one or more of these topics:
– Activities for children/parents outside of school (or perhaps school field trips)
– Promoting STEM activities in school – providing programs or support in advancing STEM
– Career, College and beyond – education and employment opportunities in STEM fields.

The deadline for application submissions is Tuesday, May 1, 2018.  Exhibitors selected will be notified in early June.

University of Washington Professor Deb Morrison will keynote Capturing Imaginations Building Skills, the second biennial joint conference of Ignite Afterschool and ScimathMN. Morrison will focus on closing equity gaps in STEM education.  Improving equity within STEM teaching and learning is a central goal of recent policy conversations and reform. Both K-12 and informal STEM educators in Minnesota and nationally have long worked towards closing the STEM learning experience opportunity gaps that exist between students with varied lived experiences. In this presentation, Dr. Morrison will define the inequities found in our current terrain and explore research on practical solutions both informal and formal educators can use to disrupt cycles of inequity. A central focus of her work at the Institute of Science and Math Education is the way in which STEM instruction integrates students’ interests and supports expansions of identity development. Dr. Morrison will address generalized approaches used across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as well as highlight some specific to science learning.  You can learn more about Morrison’s work here.

Registration for the November 29-30, 2017 conference is still open.  Register at this link.

 

STEM Day 2017 was another great success.  Over 13,000 Fair goers came through Dan Patch Park throughout the day.  There they experimented with building design, learned to code, played with robots, explored energy from citrus fruit, and marveled at just what can be done with science, engineering, technology, and math.  Governor Dayton proclaimed the day STEM Day at the Fair day in Minnesota, and Senator Franken stopped by to meet exhibitors and Fair goers.

WCCO brought turned many young people into meteorologist with their green screen, while the Raptor Center brought their magnificent birds.  We honored the states Presidential Award for Math and Science Teaching nominees, watched the University of Minnesota’s Physics Force do amazing things with 55 gallon drums, and laughed at Real Sciences jokes.

Many thanks to our sponsors for making STEM Day at the Fair happen.  Platinum: 3M, Boston Scientific, and Smiths Medical.  Silver: Seagate Technology and Orbital ATK.  T-shirt sponsor: MTS Systems, tote bags sponsored by MnDOT.  Planning for next years STEM Day at the Fair will begin after the new year.

STEM Day at the Minnesota State Fair returns August 24

The eighth annual STEM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) returns for the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair, Thursday, Aug. 24, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., in the newly renamed Dan Patch Park (formerly Carousel Park) just outside the grandstand.

STEM Day features over 30 participants who will share hands-on activities and interactive demonstrations including robots, rocketry, computer coding and animals designed for children of all ages. Each organization will involve children and adults in STEM-oriented activities and illustrate how the objects, systems and buildings we encounter every day are driven by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A performance stage will feature entertaining experiments and demonstrations, including:

9 a.m. U of MN Raptor Center

10 a.m. Physics Force

10:45 a.m. MN Department of Education Presidential Award Finalists

11 a.m. WCCO – Weather Science

Noon U of MN Raptor Center

1 p.m. Physics Force

2 p.m. WCCO – Weather Science

3 p.m. The Bakken Museum – Small Stuff, Big Deal

4 p.m. America’s Fun Science

STEM Day at the State Fair is an initiative of SciMathMN, a nonprofit statewide organization that advocates for effective, engaging, and rigorous STEM education opportunities for all Minnesota students, preparing them for citizenship, career, and college. The day is hosted by the Minnesota STEM Network and is organized by volunteers from MTS Systems, Seagate, St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota.

2017 STEM Day at the State Fair participants include 3M Visiting Wizards, American Institute of Architects (AIA) Minnesota, ARDUTIME, The Bakken Museum, Bell Museum of Natural History, Blue University, Boston Scientific, Challenger Learning Center of Minnesota, Code Savvy, Eastview Lightning Robotics, Emerson Process Management, FIRST Robotics Team 2169, KING TeC FIRST Robotics Team 2667, Knights of the Valley, Ft. Snelling Cadet Squadron, MN 131, Civil Air Patrol, Girls Inc. at YWCA of Minneapolis, GOFIRST, High Tech Kids, The Learning Jet, Market Science, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium, Minnesota MATHCOUNTS, Minnesota Zoo, MTS Systems Corporation, NASA’s MN Space Grant Consortium, National Association of Rocketry, Orbital ATK, Osseo Area Schools Kidstop, Play Quiz Bowl, Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center Youth Energy Summit (YES!) Program, TPT-TV “SciGirls”, SciMathMN, Seagate, Smiths Medical, Society of Women Engineers – Minnesota Chapter, STEM Bunnies, The Works Museum, “WOW Wind Power,” YIMA Youth Aviation Academy and Blattner, Inc.,

Thanksd to our sponsors: Platinum sponsors: 3M, Boston Scientific, and Smiths Medical Silver sponsor: Seagate Technology, Orbital ATK T-shirt sponsor: MTS Systems Corp. Tote bag sponsor: Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Media Partner WCCO-TV For more information Visit STEM Day at the State Fair on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/STEM-Day-at-the-MinnesotaState-Fair/213598361997441

The 8th annual SciMathMN STEM Day at the State Fair, Minnesota’s annual celebration of all things STEM will again open the Great Minnesota Get Together, Thursday,  August 24, 2017.  Past years have seen a broad variety of hands-on activities for fair goers in robotics, aeronautics and aerospace, programming, modern manufacturing, and a host of other STEM fields.  The event attracts a wide variety of fair goers with a growing number of families coming the first day of the fair specifically to attend STEM Day.  Groups wishing to apply to be an exhibitor can apply here.  In considering your organizations application please consider the selection criteria.

First Priority will be given to organizations which meet the following criteria (listed in order of importance):
1. Organization’s mission and purpose pertain to and are based in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
2. Organizations that collaborate and share exhibit space with an outside organization or other departments or divisions within their overall institution
3. Organizations that provide a hands-on, STEM-based activity focused on children and youth
4. Organizations from outside the Twin Cities metro area
5. Organizations new to the STEM Day event
6. Demonstrated goals to target audience
7. Appropriateness of planned activity
8. Organization’s ability to underwrite their activity. Funds for direct exhibitor support are limited.

Other factors that will influence the committee’s decision:
1. Non-profits must be registered in the state of Minnesota.
2. For-profit companies and organizations are restricted from conducting commercial operations
3. Sponsorship of STEM Day.
4. Organizations have a mechanism for community engagement in STEM or volunteer service to the community in STEM activities.
5. Date of submission of the application.

The deadline for application submissions is May 13, 2017.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP, 2015 science assessment scores were released today.  The test assessed public and private school students in three areas, physical science, life science, and Earth science, as well as broader principals of science.  Participation in the test is voluntary by student, school, district and state.  These 2015 scores are compared to either or both 2009 and 2011 assessment scores.  15 states saw increased performance at both 4^th and 8^th grades over 2009. Overall the gap between Minnesota and the nation as a whole is narrowing at both the 4^th and 8^th grades.

Nationally 4^th grade student’s achievement improved 4 points, from 150 to 154 on a 0-300 scale. This was deemed statistically significant.  The test has three achievement levels, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced.  38% of 4^th grade students were deemed as meeting or exceeding the proficient level.  The gap in performance between White and Black or Hispanic students narrowed due to a greater increase in achievement by Black and Hispanic students.  The male-female gap in scores was a not significant 1 point.

At the 8^th grade student’s achievement also improved 4 points, to 154.  34% of 8^th graders scored at or above proficient.  The White-Black and White-Hispanic achievement gaps slightly narrowed at this grade level as well, again due to stronger performance by Black and Hispanic students.  This narrowing was not however statistically significant.  The male-female gap in scores narrowed to 2 points over 2011 scores.

At the 12^th grade student’s achievement score remained flat at 150 points.  12^th grade student science course taking increased from 53% to 57% over 2009.  The number of students reporting taking a class in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics since 8^th grade increased 7% to 41% over 2009.

Minnesota public school results at the 4^th grade were 4 points higher than the national average of public school students at 157.  The 2015 average score was flat compared to the 2009 score.   43% of Minnesota students performed at or above the proficient level, flat from 2009.  80% scored at or above the NAEP basic level, not significantly different from 2009’s 81%.  Black students average score was 41 points lower than their White peers; Hispanic students scores were 28 points lower.  These differences were not significantly different from 2009.  Students who qualified for free or reduced price lunch scored 29 points below those students whose families who are not eligible.  This too was not significantly different from 2009.  There was no statistical difference in scores between male and female 4th grade students.

At the 8^th grade level Minnesota students scored 9 points higher than the national average at 162.  This was not statistically different over 2009 results.  45% performed at or above the proficient level and while this was above both 2009 and 2011 levels that was not found to be significantly different. 76% of students scored at or above the basic level, not statistically different than 2009 or 2011.  Black students average score was 43 points lower than their White peers; Hispanic students scores were 32 points lower.  These differences were not significantly different from 2009.  Students who qualified for free or reduced price lunch scored 31 points below those students whose families who are not eligible.  This performance gap was wider than in 2009 when the gap was 26 points.  There was no statistical difference in scores between male and female 8th grade students.

State level data was not available for 12^th grade results.

White Minnesota 4^th grade students scored at the national average of their peers.  Hispanic students, those reporting two or more races, and those eligible for free or reduced price lunch also scored at the national average of their peers. Black, Asian, and American Indian and Alaska Native students all scored below their national peers.

White Minnesota 8^th grade students scored 5 points above their national peers; Black, Hispanic, and Asian students all scored below their national peers.  American Indian and Alaska Native students in Minnesota scored above their national peers.  Students eligible for free or reduced price lunches scored above their national peers.

An interactive map of NAEP results can be found at the link.