Past Exhibit Examples

Get ready to dive into the exciting world of STEM at our upcoming festival, where Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics come to life for students and families across eastern Iowa! This vibrant celebration isn't just about fun—it's about sparking a passion for learning and discovery in the next generation. Together, we’ll explore hands-on activities that fuel curiosity and highlight the amazing career opportunities waiting in the STEM fields. Join us for a day filled with inspiration, laughter, and the chance to envision a bright future in STEM—because who knows? The next great innovator could be right around the corner!

 

Please keep these guidelines in mind while planning for a successful STEM festival:

• No sales activities—the focus is on inspiring STEM learning and discovery.
• Painters’ tape is the only tape allowed on the floor or walls.
• Oil of any kind (motor oil, vegetable oil, etc.) is prohibited.
• Glitter is not allowed at exhibits.
• No open flames are permitted.
• If you're bringing live animals, you must get prior approval from the planning committee.
• Drones are only allowed with prior approval from the planning committee.

 

The Northeast Iowa STEM Hub has gathered various exhibit examples for the following business sectors:

• Agriculture
• Architect/Engineering
• Computer Science
• Construction
• Energy/Utilities
• Environmental
• Financial
• General
• Law Enforcement/Fire & Rescue
• Manufacturing
• Medical

Below are past examples of activities from various different sectors:

 

 

AGRICULTURE
John Deere	Participants measured the power needed to pull the machinery through wet sand.

 

ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING
Origin Design	Origin Design brought a hands-on activity for kids to be able to use Lego duplos to build a retaining wall and see if their design collapses / fails . This activity is designed to get kids thinking about designing. How high of a wall can they build? How can we backfill to give stability?
IMEG	Participants were challenged to build the tallest tower out of paper.
Girls Scouts	Participants worked together to build a straw building with the local girls scouts.
Girls Scouts	By using toothpicks and gum drops, participants created a model of a cube.
ISG	ISG had participants build towers out of foam blocks. Structural stability was determined utilizing a fan to withstand a horizontal wind force.
Collins Aerospace	Participants were able to talk with volunteers about how different aerospace machines work and got the opportunity to test them out. They were also able to make cutout airplanes to take home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMPUTER SCIENCE
Upper Iowa University	Participants operated a GoPro camera and a Wacom tablet to test their graphic design skills.

 

CONSTRUCTION
Hawkeye Community College	Attendees got the opportunity to feel what it is like to be in the driver's seat behind some big machinery that would often be used on construction sites.
Waterloo Career Center	Participants got the opportunity to use drills and other tools to perform basic construction skills.

 

ENERGY & UTILITIES
East Penn	By using Snap Circuits, East Penn had participants wire various items to replicate the flow of energy in a battery.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL
Black Hawk County Conservation & Soil	Black Hawk Co. Soil & Water Conservation brought a soil erosion rainfall simulator and an Enviroscape watershed model on display to teach students about the connection between storm water, soil erosion, water quality, and what they can do to help protect water in our community.
Green Iowa AmeriCorps	Attendees were quizzed on their leaf identification skills and were challenged to identify differences.
Hartman Reserve	Students got the opportunity to look at various different furs and shells to attempt to guess what animals they belonged to.

 

FINANCIAL
Community Bank of Oelwein	Participants participated in a ring toss using pop bottles. Place on top of bottles were various coin amounts. Participants were asked to calculate the total. If correct, the participant won a prize.
First Bank	Attendees learned how to write checks with First Bank. They then were able to practice writing checks on a giant dry erase check.

 

GENERAL
Iowa Public Television	Participants replicated shapes using tangrams.
Loras College Math	Using dice and cards, attendees were able to play a probability game and were challenged to beat the exhibitors.

 

LAW ENFORCEMENT/FIRE & RESCUE
Fayette Co. Sheriff Department	Fayette Co. Sheriff Dept. showed attendees the technology utilized by law enforcement everyday.
Dubuque Police	Participants explored a Dubuque Police Department patrol vehicle.
Waterloo Fire & Rescue	Participants were able to test out their firefighter skills with rope rescue equipment and a demo called "HazMat ID Mass Spectrometer" with the Waterloo Fire and Rescue.
UNI STEM	Participants were involved in an investigation to find the missing mascot using chromatography.
Manchester Police Department	Participants got the opportunity to put on goggles to simulate the effects of impairment and attempt to do a set of tasks.
Dubuque Police Department	Participants were able to test their speed with the Dubuque Police Department to track how fast they could run using a radar gun.

 

MANUFACTURING
Viking Pump	Participants operated various pumps with Viking Pump. When the water reached the top, the column lit up. They also brought moving pump demos and examples of liquids that they pump.
John Deere	Participants welded with a virtual reality tool.
Geater (GMM)	Participants measured the diameter of a circle utilizing different tools.
John Deere	Participants measured the power needed to pull the machinery through wet sand.
Fusion Products	Participants operated on the computers to test their knowledge of measuring by playing a ruler game with Fusion Products.
Bodine Electric	Bodine Electric had participants build low voltage (5 volts) electric motors.
Engineering Services and Products	Engineering Services and Products had a demonstration on hydroponic growing, and an activity of building structures out of spaghetti and marshmallows.
Bayer Crop Science	Bayer Crop Science had various different activities for participants to interact with to demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle, including making vapor rings with trash can to show air flow.

 

MEDICAL
Regional Health Services of Howard County	Regional Health Services of Howard County used an IPad and a 12 inch platform to show participants all the different part of the body that they used during their jump.
NICC Nursing	Participants navigated various syringes by pulling water out of a bowl and measured the liquid in the syringe.
MercyOne	MercyOne operated a small ultrasound machine to view their arteries and veins.
University of Iowa Medical	UI Health Care provided interactive medical activities. Activities included; laparoscopic surgery. Kids had the opportunity to try their hand at minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.
Paramount Ambulances	Paramedic teaches participants about all the different medical equipment that is used during their job.
Ideal Chiropractic	Children had the opportunity to create a spine out of noodles with Ideal Chiropractic.
MercyOne Dubuque	Students were taught how to "Stop The Bleed" with MercyOne. They got the opportunity to apply a tourniquet to a dummy to practice their life saving skills.
Cedar Falls CAPS Medical	Students and families were taught how to listen to their own heartbeat and how the heart works.
Northeast Iowa Community College Radiology	Attendees were shown different x-rays and were challenged to see what was wrong with the x-ray and learn how x-rays work.