Central Hosts Stem Fest With Lt. Governor
Laura Billingsley
September 12, 2014
Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks at a STEM meeting in May.
A STEM extravaganza took place May 5 when Central hosted Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, along with Mary Andringa, the co-chair of the governor’s STEM advisory council and president and CEO of Vermeer Corp., for a STEM town hall meeting.
In addition to the speakers, the Harry and Bernice Vermeer Banquet Hall in the Graham Conference Center was filled with exhibits, such as robotic vehicles, bubble labs and biology displays. Central students took the opportunity to showcase the ideas they are researching in STEM classrooms, allowing community members and local schoolchildren a window into the world of science and technology.
Reynolds held STEM town hall meetings across the state to update Iowans on the progress being made by Gov. Terry Branstad’s STEM Advisory Council, to showcase student STEM work and to seek
feedback from communities about how the council should set STEM priorities moving forward. Central College President Mark Putnam is a member of the executive committee of the governor’s STEM advisory council.
Central is committed to providing students a solid foundation in these growing fields, and Putnam said the statewide focus on STEM “is an initiative that fully aligns with Central’s role in education, particularly in education for the STEM fields.”
The STEM fest also included refreshments and music from the Flying Pans Steel Band.