General SCI

1,624 containers of Play-Doh, 203 sewing machines, 406 rolls of duct tape… And that’s just the start. It all adds up to SCI’s Making STEM Connections kits for educators across the state.

Making STEM Connections kits have transformed classrooms and libraries into dynamic makerspaces, complete with a variety of innovative materials. The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council selected SCI’s Making STEM Connections for the 2016-17 Scale-Up Program, giving educators access to hands-on, interactive program for grades K-8.

From building a robot that can draw to creating textiles, Making STEM Connections works with educators’ existing curriculum to enhance STEM skills and reinforce the Maker mindset through interactive problem-solving.

SCI Education Specialist Jolie Pelds has managed the project – from purchasing materials to leading professional development trainings at schools.

“Making STEM Connections has given the Science Center of Iowa the opportunity to help educators all across the state create a makerspace in their learning environment,” Pelds said. “The combination of professional training and a tool cart with materials provides a platform to build on hands-on experiences that ignite students’ interest in STEM.”

So… What do Making STEM Connections kits for more than 430 educators in 101 Iowa cities look like?

• 406 rolls of duct tape
• 1,218 MaKey MaKey invention kits
• 203 sewing machines
• 896 books
• 2,030 felting needles
• 6,090 Lithium button cell batteries
• 1,624 containers of Play-Doh
• 1,015 packages of zip ties

Volunteers and staff contributed more than 100 hours packaging all the kits, creating memorable makerspaces for classrooms in the Des Moines metro and beyond.

For Pelds, the impact of Making STEM Connections lasts long after all the tool carts are shipped to schools across the state.

“It has been so exciting to hear from teachers on all the ways that they have been able to enrich their existing curriculum with the Making STEM Connections program,” she said.

At Lamoni Middle School, science teacher Liz Carpenter said Making STEM Connections kits have given her students new opportunities for project-based learning.

“My kids were so excited when the tool cart arrived and I started showing them the supplies,” Carpenter said. “One of my girls was looking in all the drawers and said, ‘Oh, I can hardly wait to start my project!’ We have been using the drill, saw, tools, batteries and other items from the kit since about a day after it arrived.”

Learn more about Making STEM Connections and SCI professional development for teachers www.sciowa.org/makingstemconnections

Effigy Mounds in northeast Iowa has layers of significance. There’s the park’s importance among Native American communities. There’s its status as Iowa’s only national monument. There are the physical mounds, each mystically carved into Iowa’s landscape.

Located in Monona, Iowa, in Allamakee County, Effigy Mounds joins national parks and historical sites under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, which celebrates its centennial in August.

The park’s trademark mounds were formed by Native Americans in the shapes of animal spirits, including birds, deer, bison and lynx.

Northeast Iowa and Wisconsin are the only places in the Midwest have these types of highly concentrated mounds.

The mystery is part of the park’s allure for Effigy Mounds Cultural Resources Manger Albert LeBeau. He understands how the mounds were made — it’s the lingering “Why?” that inspires lasting relationships and collaboration with more than 20 Native American tribes.

“It’s about making sure that story is being told and making sure it’s told correctly,” LeBeau says. “We work hard to reestablish a working relationship with tribal partners. We have open, frank conversations about the management of the park together.”

For Chief Ranger Bob Palmer, the park’s importance is rooted in little moments that embody what it means to be an American.

Palmer’s national parks career has taken him to North Carolina, the Virgin Islands, Virginia and the north island of New Zealand. At Effigy Mounds, he oversees everything from visitor center operations and school visits to environmental protection and park upkeep.

Distilling a 29-year national parks career into a moment or two is tough for Palmer, but one Effigy Mounds moment still has him tearing up, 15-some years later.

Palmer took a group of fourth graders on a hike at Effigy Mounds, asking history trivia along the way.

He started things off with a story about Fort Crawford, which is across the Mississippi River. The commanding officer’s daughter there married a soldier named Jefferson Davis. Palmer asked if anyone knew who Davis was.

“This little boy raised his hand and shyly said, ‘Wasn’t he the president of the confederacy during the Civil War?’ ‘Yes, yes, he was,’ I said. ‘And his father-in-law was Zachary Taylor, does anyone know who Zachary Taylor was?’”

The boy answered question after question correctly, even acing Zachary Taylor’s nickname: “Old Rough and Ready.”

Palmer finished the hike and stopped to chat with the boy’s teachers.

“I said, ‘Boy, that fella is really switched on. He knows his history,’ and she looked at me, and said, ‘Yeah, he’s a Bosnian immigrant. He’s only been here for two-and-a-half years because his family was in the civil war in Bosnia. They moved over here, and he’s really embraced being an American.’”

Fifteen-some years later, that moment still encapsulates Palmer’s understanding of America’s National Park Service and all it encompasses.

“The value of our parks, national monuments and historical sites allows us to weave a tapestry among our citizenry that brings us all together in one form or another,” Palmer said. “You go to these parks and people have experiences that transform their lives. In that case, it was an experience that transformed mine.”

Experience the transformative power of the parks with National Parks Adventure in IMAX at SCI. Plus, get a local taste of America’s nationally protected lands with a trip to Effigy Mounds this summer!