stem nights

The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub would like to partner with you to bring a STEM Night to your school or program!  Our STEM Nights involve hands-on, high-quality STEM learning experiences for Elementary-aged children and their families. 

 

How does the partnership work?

​

The school designates an Event Lead to work alongside the STEM Hub to coordinate every step of the planning process for your STEM Night - we outline specific milestones in the planning process and share our suggestions with your Event Lead. The Event Lead could be a school administrator, program director, or teacher passionate about the event. 

​

How does the STEM Hub support your event?

 

• We provide all the needed materials, supplies and kits for families to experience quality STEM learning. All kits are hands-on with family-friendly directions - with most available in both English & Spanish. 

 

• We hire your staff  to support the event by supervising stations during STEM Night. Your staff supports set-up, event facilitation and clean-up. 

 

• We provide program management support to your Event Lead, working alongside your Lead to meet important milestones and tasks to ensure a successful event. The Event Lead and STEM Hub coordinate to schedule meetings outside of the Lead’s regular contract commitments for your school/program. The Event Lead is also compensated for planning time, meeting time and day of event tasks, for an estimated 15 hour commitment.

 

• We provide this opportunity at no cost to Oregon Elementary schools in our 5-county service region!  We bring everything right to you!

 

What does a typical STEM Night look like?

 

• STEM Nights are come & go experiences for families. Children and families are able to rotate through learning stations based on their own interests.  Some schools utilize “Passports,” which encourage families to visit a variety of stations. 

 

• Most STEM Nights include 10 or more different stations (varies depending on school sizes), located in various spaces throughout your school/facility.  Stations are clearly labeled and some schools create activity maps for families to follow.

 

• STEM Hub provides STEM activities that include: free-building, design challenges, make & take activities, and career-connected learning challenges.  Your school's Event Lead will have the opportunity to choose the stations that best meet the needs and interests of the students at the school/program.  If the Event Lead or program/school staff have suggestions for activities, those can most often be incorporated into the event, with ease.

 

• Each activity comes with easy-to-follow instructions and all of the materials needed!  Staff are available at each station to support children & their families. We ask that staff serve as a “Guide on the Side,” providing scaffolded support when appropriate.

 

• Most events run for 2 hours. Staff arrive approximately 30 minutes prior to the start of the event to set up their station(s) and become familiar with activity contents & objectives. Staff also supports clean-up for approximately 30 minutes. STEM activities can be messy at times (and fill up garbage cans), so many schools require facility services after their STEM Night.  

 

• As planning & time allows, intentional STEM learning experiences can be connected to classroom units or content.  Your Event Lead can work alongside the STEM Hub to bring activities that are most relevant to student’s current learning, though this requires additional time commitments from the Event Lead.

 

Interested in partnering with Columbia Gorge STEM Hub to bring a STEM Night to your school or program?

 

Contact Julie Cucuel - jcucuel@cgesd.k12.or.us

​

​