April 25, 2025

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The Dalles, OR - The Oregon Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) has recognized two outstanding educators from our region with the prestigious Regional Math Educator Award, highlighting their exceptional dedication to advancing mathematics instruction and supporting educators throughout the area.

April 23, 2025

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The Dalles, OR – More than 160 eighth graders from The Dalles Middle School participated in Maritime Career Days held at Columbia Gorge Community College’s Regional Skills Center on February 25th and 27th. The event offered students immersive, hands-on experiences with labs dedicated to 3D printing, welding, construction, and machine prototyping, led by CGCC faculty.

April 18, 2025

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THE DALLES —The inaugural Career and Technical Education (CTE) Regional Advisory Committee meeting was successfully held on March 13, bringing together a diverse group of educators, industry leaders, and community partners to strengthen connections between education and workforce development. The event was spearheaded by programs of the Columbia Gorge Education Service District — Columbia Gorge STEM Hub and Department of Education & Innovation — with support from the High Desert Education Service District.

January 28, 2025​​

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The Dalles, Ore. – The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub recently announced the recipients for the 2024-2025 Microgrants. This year, 20 educators and community partners across six counties and eight school districts were awarded grant funding to support STEM-related projects and initiatives throughout the Gorge.​

January 3, 2025​​

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Hood River, Ore. – Congratulations to the Swifties Panthers and the other 6 teams who will be advancing to the state competition this month!

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Photo credit: Gorge News

November 26, 2024​​

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The Dalles, Ore. – The spirit of innovation and teamwork was on full display at the Second Annual Regional Rube-a-Thon, held at Columbia Gorge Community College’s Campus in The Dalles on October 25th. This year’s challenge, titled “Feed a Pet”, brought together 26 teams comprised of 127 seventh-grade students from eight schools across the region. The event celebrated student creativity, critical thinking, and engineering skills in a friendly competition to design complex Rube Goldberg-style machines.

November 22, 2024​​

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The Dalles, Ore. – The Gorge Technology Alliance (GTA) and the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, who share the mission of ensuring equitable access to quality STEM experiences for all students, are again collaborating to sponsor competitive robotics by providing much-needed grant funds to our region’s competitive robotics teams. Last school year, nearly $24,000 in grant funding provided support to 200 students across 40 teams.

October 1, 2024​​

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The Dalles, Ore. – The ‘Learning to Lead' program will continue for a third year due to a Career Connected Learning grant awarded to the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub from the Oregon Community Foundation. The grant will continue to allow the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, in partnership with Oregon State University and Wasco County 4-H, to hire high school students in Hood River, Gilliam, and Wasco Counties to serve as Teen STEM Leaders for the 2024-2025 school year.

September 4, 2024​​

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The Dalles, Ore. – In partnership with Columbia Gorge Community College, Cardinal Glass Industries and Oregon STEM, a handful of youth participated in career connected learning experiences during the summer as interns. In alignment with Oregon STEM’s mission to promote equitable access to STEM opportunities across Oregon, the Spark Oregon initiative is a partnership between Oregon STEM and Columbia Gorge Education Service District, the backbone agency that houses the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, to support career-connected learning in an earn-to-learn model for historically underrepresented youth in STEM.

August 6, 2024

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The Dalles, Ore. – The Columbia Gorge SBDC, in collaboration with the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, OMEP, ECW, and others, recently hosted an innovative Career and Technical Education (CTE) event that brought the world of business strategy to life. On June 25, local entrepreneurs and manufacturing professionals gathered at Columbia Gorge Community College for OMEP’s “Ready or Not!” Business Simulation Game, an immersive training experience designed to challenge and educate participants in real-world business scenarios.

August 6, 2024

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The Dalles, Ore. – A group of eight middle and high school educators from the Gorge region recently delved into the world of advanced manufacturing and electro-mechanics during the third annual Educator Externship organized by the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, a program of the Columbia Gorge Education Service District (CGESD).

May 7, 2024

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The Dalles, Ore. – The Dalles Lock and Dam Visitor Center opened up for the summer season on Friday, May 3. The visitor center offers educational exhibits, activities, and more making it a great place to spend a few hours learning about hydropower, local history, flora and fauna, geology and take in the sights and sounds of the river.  The Columbia Gorge Stem Hub has recently partnered to provide fun and educational activities inside the visitor center. Park Rangers encourage the public to stop in and say hello!

April 19, 2024

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Hood River, Ore. – Three robotics teams from The Dalles are gearing up to represent the Columbia Gorge area at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas this May, after successfully achieving their fundraising goal of more than $12,000 thanks to donations from the community and support from Google.

April 19, 2024

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The Dalles Ore. — The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub in collaboration with Career Connect Southwest WA and Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) hosted its third annual College & Career Expo at CGCC’s Campus in The Dalles. 138 students from 11 different high schools in the region (6 from Washington and 5 from Oregon) attended this year’s event - the largest number to date.  This year’s expo showcased a College & Career Fair and immersive workshop sessions aimed at exposing students to a variety of post-secondary options and supporting students on either path - College or Career.

March 21, 2024

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The Dalles Ore. — The Columbia Gorge Education Service District (CGESD) has received a CTE Revitalization Grant of $265,959 in funding through June 2025. The grant will be managed by the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub and will support and expand access to current manufacturing technologies at two local partner school districts, South Wasco County School District and Hood River County School District.

January 22, 2024

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The Dalles, Ore. — The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub recently announced the recipients for the 2023-2024 Microgrants. This year, 20 educators and community partners across four counties and five school districts received grant funding to support STEM-related projects and initiatives happening in the Gorge. This year’s microgrants are estimated to impact over 4,330 students and 148 classrooms or teachers.

December 4, 2023

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The Dalles, OR - Students from Hood River, The Dalles, and WyEast middle schools secured spots to the state championship at the Stuff the Turkey VEX IQ Robotics Tournament in The Dalles the weekend of November 18. These teams will qualify for the chance to showcase their skills at the Oregon State VEX IQ Robotics Championship in Sandy, Oregon, on Saturday, February 24th.

November 15, 2023

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The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, a department within the Columbia Gorge Education Service District (CGESD), has hosted a successful inaugural Rube-a-Thon event. The Rube-a-Thon was held Oct. 6 at Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) in The Dalles. This regional event brought together 21 teams of seventh graders — 120 students — from Oregon and Washington, representing Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat, and Skamania counties, to showcase their ingenuity in tackling the annual Rube Goldberg Institute Challenge of “Put Toothpaste on a Toothbrush.”

October10, 2023

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THE DALLES — Google is announcing more than $100,000 in grants to help preserve a historic national landmark in The Dalles and to organizations supporting STEM education across Wasco County. The grants are part of an annual community grant program which Google offers each year exclusively to communities where the company operates data centers.

September 19, 2023

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The Gorge Technology Alliance (GTA) and the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, who share the mission of ensuring equitable access to quality STEM experiences for all students, are collaborating to sponsor competitive robotics throughout the region by providing much-needed grant funds to Oregon and Washington competitive robotics teams.

September 12, 2023

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THE DALLES — The “Learning to Lead” program will continue for the second year thanks to a Career Connected Learning grant awarded to the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub from the Oregon Community Foundation. The grant will continue to allow the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, in partnership with OSU/Wasco County 4-H, to hire high school students in Hood River, Gilliam and Wasco counties to serve as Teen STEM Leaders.

July 31, 2023

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In partnership with Wasco County 4H, 10 VEX Robotics coaches participated in a 2-day Coach Training provided by Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (REC). Coaches had the opportunity to connect, collaborate, learn about VEX-IQ, experiment with robotics building & automation, and participate in a mini tournament!  Coaches from Wasco County 4H, Dufur School District, North Wasco County School District  & Hood River School District attended.

July 26, 2023

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Over 45 educators were trained in Bee Bot Robots, for use in Migrant Education summer programming in Wasco & Hood River Counties, serving approximately 500 students collectively. Educators learned how to operate Bee Bots, encourage students to problem solve through algorithmic thinking, and to connect Bee Bots to other content areas. Bee Bots allow our youngest learners to experiment with computer programming and coding - all without the need for technology! 

July 18, 2023

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Sixteen local middle school and high school educators gained a greater understanding of career paths in Advanced Manufacturing, a prominent field in the Gorge region. This year’s event marked the 2nd Educator Externship hosted by the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub at Columbia Gorge Education Service District (CGESD).

June 14, 2023

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Hundreds of local families participated in hands-on STEM activities at the 2023 Gorge STEM Fair on Saturday, June 3rd. Families explored close to 30 booths hosted by local educational groups, businesses, and non-profit organizations. This year, the fair chose a new location in Hood River at Horizon Christian School’s sports field to provide more space for booth hosts and families. 

May 8, 2023

 

In honor of Oregon STEM Week, the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub provided free STEM Kits to 70 classrooms, directly impacting 1,500 K-5 local elementary students. 

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May 1, 2023

Nearly 100 students from eight local high schools learned about promising local careers at the 2nd annual College and Career Expo on April 21st. The expo is a partnership between the STEM Hub, Career Connect Southwest Washington and Columbia Gorge Community College. 

January 9, 2023

This year, the STEM Hub received an even greater number of submissions than last year for our annual Microgrant opportunity with representation from educators across all five Oregon counties in our Columbia Gorge STEM Hub serving area. This made it even more competitive and challenging for the selection committee to choose recipients. Congratulations to the grantees! 

April 6, 2022

The STEM Hub will be partnering with Hood River County and South Wasco County School Districts to manage more than $200,000 of grant funding awarded to help diversify access to engineering, computer science, and advanced manufacturing courses in the region.

October 18, 2021

High-quality online STEM education resources at students' fingertips. 4-H at Home-a free online platform comprised of interactive K-12 activities. 

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January 15, 2020

Every Wednesday afternoon, the Parkdale Elementary Library undergoes a transformation — from a place of quiet literary exploration to a bustling Makerspace.

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December 18, 2019

The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub has announced the recipients of the 2019-20 STEM Educator Microgrants. Winning proposals demonstrated a focus on equity, expanding STEM opportunities, cost effectiveness, and potential for lasting impact. 

October 30, 2019

Two Gorge students represented Oregon in Washington, D.C., earlier this month at the second annual Chief Science Officers International Summit.

August 28, 2019

How to Think Like a Scientist; Doing STEM at Home; Coming to a Classroom Near You, and more.

August 21, 2019

The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub recently introduced the 17 middle and high school students from Hood River and The Dalles who will serve as Chief Science Officers this coming school year.

June 01, 2019

June’s First Friday brings Oak Street closures and the annual STEM Fair.

Fifty local businesses, organizations and school groups will convene on Oak Street in downtown Hood River on June 7 from 5-7 p.m. for the event.

March 16, 2019

First annual STEM in the Gorge guide. Thanks to Eagle Publishing, sponsors, and contributing writers to this fun and informational magazine!

December 31, 2019

Columbia Gorge STEM Hub invites families, teachers and STEM professionals to join in celebrating National Engineers Week Feb. 17-23. On Feb. 18, the STEM Hub is hosting “Lunch with a STEM Professional.”

December 19, 2018

Lu Seapy and Maza Brady are honored for their contributions to STEM Education and supporting Women in STEM.

October 23, 2018

Chief Science Officers from Hood River represented Oregon at the CSO International Summit in Washington D.C. 

July 06, 2018

Students from Hood River & The Dalles attended the Chief Science Officers Institute at Eastern Oregon University. 

April 17, 2018

The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub recently announced the recipients of the spring 2018 STEM Educator Microgrants. These ideas for innovation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) were selected by a committee from a competitive pool.

April 17, 2018

Columbia Gorge STEM Hub and Hood River Valley High School’s Steelhead Robotics Team are seeking businesses and organizations to sign-up to host booths at the annual Gorge STEM Fair. This free event, open to the public, will be held June 1 from 5-7 p.m. in downtown Hood River.

January 23, 2018

US2020 announces 15 finalists, including the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub in The Dalles, for the STEM Coalition Challenge, a competition for communities across the country to develop cross-sector partnerships to bring quality hands-on STEM mentoring and maker-centered learning to underrepresented students.