Annual STEM Day at Fair Growing

The 7th annual STEM Day at the Minnesota State Fair promises to be bigger and yes, better, than ever. Fair guests can get an up-close look in intriguing, interactive adventures brought to the fair by 35 organizations in the Minnesota STEM Network, an initiative of SciMathMN. Attendees can design features for a State Fair building and a zoo exhibit; build a battery with coins; make a food web; step inside the Bell Museum’s ExploraDome to see the night sky; test principles of aerodynamics with paper airplanes and clay model cars; learn about the role of polymers in diapers and movies; experiment with water pressure; maneuver robots to tackle challenges; test your engineering abilities by building a bridge; learn about biosecurity, rocketry, aquatics robotics and computer coding; and more! On the Carousel Park Stage, engaging presentations feature the University of Minnesota Raptor Center, Physics Force, the Flying Gizmo Show, and the Best of the Science Museum of Minnesota.We are grateful for the many sponsors who are making this event possible. They include 3M, Boston Scientific, MTS, OrbitalATK, Bemidji State, MnDOT, and HB Fuller.

STEM educators fear spending bill undermines goal of new U.S. law

By Devi ShastriJun. 21, 2016 , 5:15 PM

A federal grant has helped 500 teachers in Tampa, Florida, discover new ways to teach science at every grade level. The knowledge they’ve gained over the past 3 years has translated into 24 new lessons and a curriculum that includes hands-on strategies such as engineering design challenges.

But the fate of that and dozens of other federally funded programs to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in U.S. elementary and secondary schools is up in the air following the first move by Congress to fund a new education law that reshuffles money allocated for STEM activities. A 2017 spending bill approved earlier this month by the Senate appropriations committee falls well short of what STEM educators had expected, setting off a potentially zero-sum game between science and other parts of the curriculum.