Blog Layout

Hands-on learning for Utah students at STEM Fest

Jan 15, 2016

The Utah STEM Action Center organizes an annual event for educators around STEM, but it’s no conference. Instead, the Utah STEM Fest is all for students.

There’s no fee, schools simply have to bus students to the exhibit hall and the Utah STEM Fest takes care of the rest. It’s a simple model and tremendously popular. Last year, more than 17,000 people attended.

We chatted with one of the event organizers, Marketing Communications Specialist Kaitlin Felsted, about how it works and how the Utah STEM Action Center recruits exhibitors.

Kaitlin Felsted headshot

Kaitlin Felsted explains how the Utah STEM Fest allows student to apply learning to real life.

What’s the goal of Utah STEM Fest?
STEM Fest is an opportunity for middle school and high school students to see STEM careers in action! With more than 60 exhibitors from industry, education and government, students will have the opportunity to interact with science, technology, engineering and math across the whole spectrum through hands-on experiences.

How’s this event different other education conferences?
STEM Fest is unique, because it’s not just exhibitors coming and showing what they do. EVERY exhibit is hands-on, so students can really experience what they can do with science, technology, engineering and math. From coding to underwater robotics to rocket launching, it’s really an opportunity to take what students are learning in the classroom and apply it to real life.

Where did the idea come from?
The event initially stemmed from a career days event that industry had hosted for the past few years in Provo, Utah. Last year that same group of industry members decided to take the event and give it a twist, angling the event towards a STEM theme. The three-day STEM Fest was a huge success, with students and teachers from all over the state in attendance. Feedback was extremely positive from educators, asking that they hold STEM Fest annually, and with each year we hope to see the event grow and reach more and more students.

There’s an impressive list of presenters, how do you attract these exhibits?
First off, we are so excited that Utah’s industry sees the value of working with Utah’s youth to help them understand the jobs of the future. Once we sent an email inviting potential exhibitors to attend, most were able see the value of STEM Fest. The majority of our exhibitors are directly STEM-related and they view this as another opportunity to expose students to STEM in an exciting and meaningful way.

Thanks Kaitlin. Before we let you go, why are you a part of this work?
I often wish I had more opportunities, more mentors to expose me to STEM Fields. I’d like to see STEM become an acronym that everyone knows and understands. Even though I did not pursue STEM while in college, I am excited to use my skills in Marketing and Communications to engage students, teachers and parents in science, technology, engineering and math by showing them that these fields are cutting edge and exciting.

By Rob Evans 01 Nov, 2023
by Heather Sherman, Director of STEMx The 2023 STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce was a success! Through our collaboration with STEMconnector and Million Women Mentors, we convened 160 leaders from industry, government, non-profit organizations, and education institutions from all over the United States to discuss strategies and best practices to support the STEM workforce. We were honored to host a variety of dynamic speakers including: Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado Brynt Parmeter, Chief Talent Management Officer, U.S. Department of Defense Dr. Athina Kanioura, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, PepsiCo and Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, Founder and CEO of Ruling Our eXperiences (RoX). We extend our gratitude to our panelists, Learning Session speakers, and participants who joined us in Denver. Broadening participation We set out share information on trends in STEM education and workforce development, with an emphasis on broadening participation in STEM careers. Resources from sessions highlighting strategies for broadening participation are linked below: DoD STEM: Developing a STEM Workforce to Support the National Security Mission Priming the Pump for High Demand STEM Careers STEM Workforce Readiness for Teen Girls: “If She Can See It, She Can Be It” Driving change Another goal of the forum was to feature high impact strategies, programs and solutions that are driving change, and STEMx members from LASTEM , the PAST Foundation and MBRT showed how they are engaging youth and building career awareness through their workforce programs. Emerging technologies We looked towards the future to better understand how emerging technologies will change the world and the ways we must prepare STEM talent for jobs in logistics, artificial intelligence, research safety , bioenergy , and renewable technologies. Chevron‘s sponsored panel, “Cultivating the Talent to Drive the Innovation and Technologies for Ever-Cleaner Energy” was a rich discussion featuring experts from Chevron, Project Lead the Way and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Dr. Jamie Vernon, Executive Director, and CEO, Sigma Xi Society was a fantastic moderator for this discussion. Next steps We have linked event resources including videos, slide decks and collateral on the event landing page . The event photo gallery is located there as well. If you attended, please complete our 30 second event survey . Five lucky winners will be selected at random to receive a Forum water bottle! More importantly, your feedback matters to us. If you did not attend, mark your calendar for next fall - we’re looking to make next year even bigger! If you are interested in hosting in your state, or have thoughts about compelling content that we should include, please reach out to Heather Sherman .
By Rob Evans 03 Oct, 2023
Join us for The STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce
Share by: