Join us at the 2020 Western UP STEM Festival on Wednesday, March 18 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., as we inspire kids about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. With dozens of hands-on activities, interactions with STEM mentors and science fair participants, and exciting Makerspace engineering design challenges, the Western UP STEM Festival will connect youth with the next generation of innovators and promote their enthusiasm for STEM.

Who: All Western UP K-12 students, teachers and families (K-8 students must be accompanied by an adult)

What: Western UP STEM Festival

When: 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Where: Michigan Tech University Memorial Union Building (MUB Commons)

Students and families will enjoy a night filled with fun activities held throughout the MUB designed to build students’ excitement and interest in STEM, including:

• More than two dozen exciting, hands-on science & engineering station activities, facilitated by nearly 100 MTU students from a dozen student organizations.   

• New this year, the public will have the opportunity to visit Michigan Tech’s “Makerspace Alley” at the MUB to work in teams to design the solution to a variety of engineering challenges!

• From 5 to 6 p.m., the public can view the projects submitted to the Science & Engineering Fair by over 100 4th-8th grade students from across the Western UP. Doors close to the public at 6 p.m. when judging begins.

Student participants will create artwork by illuminating glow-in-the-dark paints on paper.

They will explore diffraction by viewing the spectra of various light sources, learn how fiber optic cables work by shining a laser through water, and see temperature through the eyes of an infrared camera. There will be robotic demonstrations, remotely operated vehicles and 3-D printers on display, and intriguing railroad challenges to figure out. Students will make their own bouncy balls, try fish printing, explore their vital signs, and play a variety of sustainability games.

Schools are encouraged to promote this event and consider offering bus transportation to encourage attendance.

The STEM Festival is coordinated by the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Educational Outreach. More than two dozen hands-on science and engineering activities for K-8 students and their families will be provided by Michigan Tech STEM student organizations and local schools.

The 2020 Western UP Science & Engineering Fair and STEM Festival is a collaborative effort of the Western U.P. MiSTEM Network, Michigan Tech Center for Science and Educational Outreach, Michigan Tech Chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon Chemical Engineering Honor Society and the Carnegie Museum. This year’s Science Fair & STEM Festival is made possible by contributions from the following at Michigan Tech: College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, College of Sciences and Arts, College of Engineering, Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, and Electrical & Computer Engineering, along with the Ecosystem Science Center, Great Lakes Research Center, Sustainable Futures Institute and Transportation Institute, in addition to the Copper Country Intermediate School District, and the Western U.P. MiSTEM Network.

Many thanks to our current and past sponsors and volunteers. For more information visit http://www.wupstem.org/

For more information on the Western UP Science Fair, contact Emily Gochis at 482-0331 or egochis@copperisd.org

For more information on the STEM Festival, contact Joan Chadde at 487-3341 or jchadde@mtu.edu