With around 153,000 daily visitors, the Great Minnesota Get-Together is an ideal place to host a STEM event, and that’s exactly what SciMath MN does.
Alliant’s education-based community outreach program, Trailblazers, participated in this year’s STEM Day event, themed “You Belong In STEM.” With our Trailblazers team ready, we took our “Build A Community” activity to the fair. Consisting of custom felt pieces shaped as roadways, homes, commercial buildings, ponds, and parks, we encouraged creativity and critical thinking from young fairgoers to design their own community. While teaching the primary components of civil engineering, Alliant staff asked probing questions such as; What do communities need? What will you name your community? Does it have space for buses and bikes, and can everyone access the grocery store?
Over 1,000 kids visited the STEM Day portion of the fair and participated in the many activities provided by the impressive list of leading Minnesota STEM-related agencies, museums, and businesses. From MnDOT to Boston Scientific, Target to The Society of Women Engineers – there were exciting, engaging activities for everyone.
“The fair was an incredible experience. We were honored to be a part of the day!” said Beth Winter, a member of the Trailblazers team. “The kids were really putting thought into how their communities worked. It’s always special to let kids know that they belong in STEM.”
For more information on our Trailblazers initiative, contact Beth Winter.
