7th Graders Attend Find Your Spark! STEM II Institute

Seventh grade students from Excelsior and Oak Ridge middle schools attended the first STEM II Institute at the Linn County Regional Center. Nearly 2,400 seventh grade students from area school districts attended the Find Your Spark! STEM II Institute’s event hosted by Kirkwood Community College’s Workplace Learning Center in collaboration with University of Iowa Health Care.

Held at Kirkwood Community College’s Workplace Learning Connection Center, the two-day event provides students with the opportunity to explore different career paths and is designed to guide them in their decision-making process.

Students attended presentations led by more than 28 representatives from a wide variety of businesses related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics including: Kirkwood Community College – Allied Health, Patient Care Academy, Transportation Academy & Information Technology, Cedar Rapids Fire Department, UnityPoint Health, Mercy Medical Center, University of Iowa Radiation Services, Cedar Rapids Medical Education Foundation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Alliant Energy, Chiropractic Clinic of Iowa, Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa, Marion Fire Department, Transamerica, MMS Consultants, Schneider Electric, OPN Architects, Skyworks, NextEra Duane Arnold Energy Center, National Advanced Driving Simulator, Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency, MidAmerican Energy, Iowa State University Linn County Extension and Outreach, University of Iowa Health Care, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Highway Equipment, Air National Guard, and Rockwell Collins.

This is the pilot year for the Linn County STEM Institute, which has been titled STEM II Institute, and the first time the event has taken place in Linn County. The original STEM I Institute was developed six years ago in collaboration with University of Iowa Health Care and Workplace Learning Connection to provide interactive experiences with a heavy STEM focus. The event was so successful it was decided to expand the program.