WNY STEM Activities and Opportunities for May 2017

Saturday, May 6 - Boom Day Festival, Silo City (92 Childs St., Buffalo) – WNY STEM will celebrate this annual season rite of passage - by inviting kids to use a digital microscope to view teeny tiny pond creatures and bigger critters like diving beetles. Visit our tent from 11am to 4PM. WNY STEM is a proud co-sponsor with Silo City, The Great Lakes Experience, Explore Buffalo, Young Audiences, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, Rigidized Metals, Cabelas. The Public and Sea Grant. See https://www.facebook.com/events/656437941214070/.

Thursday, May 11- Celebrating STEAM, Salamanca City Central Jr./Sr. High School, 50 Iroquois Dr., Salamanca, 5pm-8pm. The community is invited to join us as students in grades 4-12 showcase STEAM projects, scientific thinking and problem solving skills. Community groups will participate with interactive displays. WNY STEM is a cosponsor with the SUNY Fredonia Science & Technology Entry Program and Salamanca City Schools.

Saturday, May 13 – STEAM Ahead Career Day, New York Power Authority, 5777 Lewiston Rd., Lewiston, 10am-3pm - Families and educators are invited to meet exhibitors, educators, businesses and professionals in STEM and STEAM fields, and enjoy interactive activities, presentations and workshops in the all-new state-of-the-art exhibits at the Niagara Power Vista. WNY STEM and NYPA are co-sponsors in cooperation with WNY Career Path Alliance and the Niagara County Community College Liberty Partnership Program. Free admission, parking, and trolley service to Niagara Falls from the Vista. Learn more at http://www.nypa.gov/niagarapowerevents.

Wednesday, May 17 - Girls Coding App Demo, SUNY Buffalo State Technology Building, Room 160, 1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, 5:30-6:30PM. Join Horizns Consultants and the Girls Coding Project for a demo of the new Childcare Resource App sponsored by the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County. See what girls have learned in the yearlong Girls Coding Project and in supporting app development. The Project was initiated by WNY STEM and AT&T in collaboration with SUNY Buffalo State and Girl Scouts WNY.

Thursday, May 18 - WNY Brain Challenge, ECC South Campus, 4041 Southwestern Blvd., Orchard Park, 9am to 1pm. Remember those crazy contraptions that Rube Goldberg used to assemble from everyday objects? This first-time competition invites middle and high school student teams to design, build and present a Rube Goldberg-style device to roll a ball down a ramp using simple machines only…no hands allowed! WNY STEM is proud to collaborate with Computers For Children to present this event in coordinator with WNY Technology Education Association Tech Wars. Visit www.brainchallenge2017.wixsite.com/brainstem.

Be Recognized as a Paid Presenter - The WNY STEAM Conference cosponsored by WNY STEM and the Education Collaborative of WNY will include workshops held on August 7 (Monday) at SUNY Buffalo State. General Motors has agreed to be a major sponsor and their design team from Michigan is waiting in the wings to join us. Monday's interactive 50-minute sessions will cover all aspects of STEAM led by K-12 teachers, college and university professors, and STEAM industry professionals. Authors of presentation proposals selected for the Monday sessions will be granted a $50 stipend and a waiver of workshop registration costs for the presentation members.  This is our way of recognizing your leadership in STEAM learning. To submit your proposal by May 26, visit HERE.

Get Involved in STEM/STEAM Month - The weeks ahead are filled with FREE events to inspire STEM/STEAM learning and careers.  Join us this Saturday at the Boom Days Festival and the following Saturday at the STEAM Ahead event at the Niagara Power Vista.  Free informational STEM/STEAM tables are still available at the May 11Celebration of STEAM in Salamanca and volunteer judges are needed for the May 18 Rube Goldberg Brain Challenge at ECC South.  Contact mkavanaugh@wnystem.org, if interested. Check out the attached for more details on a few events in the next couple ahead.

The Skis Keep Calling Us - Unless you've been living on another planet, you couldn't help but notice that our "Spud Launchers" from Hamlin Park School in Buffalo became stars and have been growing their astronaut-tested specimens in the UB Greenhouse since completing the Student Spaceflight Experiments Project with WNY STEM.  Due to the success of that project, WNY STEM has been invited to facilitate a coalition of sites/schools (grades 5-12) for Mission 12, starting September 5, 2017.  Interested teachers and administrators should contact mkavanaugh@wnystem.org so that letters of intent can be completed before May 15.