By Valentina Rodriguez
Hosted by the Utah STEM Action Center, over 450 attendees gathered at the Layton Conference Center to learn key educational practices from experts and leaders in our pre-K-12 STEM community. Teachers from all over Utah gained hands-on experiences from newly introduced lessons in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); participated in networking opportunities: received prize giveaways: and welcomed the record-setting Captain Barrington Irving as a keynote speaker to kick-off the conference.
Guests were inspired by Captain Irving, who by the age of 23 became the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world. Through his perseverance and educational journey, he became determined to bring STEM learning to schools nationwide. His talk highlighted the importance of leading kids to find their purpose within STEM related activities and the advancing perspective of truly engaging the future generation through entertaining and curiosity-filled curriculums. Following these key attributes, he constructed a digital curriculum, The Flying Classroom, which encourages educators to challenge students to design innovative solutions to real-world problems.
Afterwards, participants rotated through various interactive presentations constructed by experts in the STEM learning and curriculum sector. The event featured modules from organizations such as the UVU Creative Learning Studio, introducing “Mini STEM kits: Hands-on Investigations for Early Learners” and the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium presenting a guide on “How to Make the Most of a Field Trip” featuring Jack the armadillo. Teachers accessed a diverse range of approaches to incorporate STEM into fun and creative crafts and activities. STEM history, computer science, biology, and engineering are a few of the many subjects explored in the presentations.
“At the Utah STEM Action Center, we aim for individual classrooms all over the state to foster innovative and valuable STEM education,” said Kellie Yates, collaboration and program development manager. “Our classroom grant enhances opportunities for idea-sharing and unleashed curiosity.”
Contributing to the mission of introducing educators to the best STEM practices, the Utah STEM Action Center presents funding opportunities for teachers to construct their own learning tools and implement them in their own classrooms. These innovative projects are shared at further STEM conferences and documented in the STEM Resource Library. The Pre-K-12 Classroom Grant opens Aug. 1 and closes Sept. 30. Teachers can apply for up to $1,500 for project materials, equipment, and fees which contribute to improving everyday learning.
To close up the Best Practices Conference, all attendees participated in a prize drawing that included amazing donations from the STEM Foundation and their partners. Prizes included travel vouchers from Get Away Today and tickets to “The Addams Family” at the Hale Centre Theatre. More prizes featured a stay at the Sundance Resort and guests from the Bryce Canyon conference enjoyed delicious Ruby Snap cookies.
