CEDAR CITY — Families looking to encourage their children to explore science, technology, engineering and math can find resources and support at the Southern Utah University STEM Center for Teaching & Learning.

The STEM Center was founded in 2014 and operated out of a closet at North Elementary School, Project Coordinator Natalie Christensen said.

In 2020, it moved to its current location at SUU’s Geosciences building in room 323. According to its website, the program offers a variety of STEM activities, events and resources, including the Range and Cedar Mountain Elementary Science camps.

Additionally, the center partners with other programs, such as the Southern Utah Museum of Art and SUU’s animal ambassadors where children learn about animals they care for, like lizards and tortoises.

“The STEM Center wants to help expand your world,” the website states.

STEAM Scavenger Hunt

As part of SUU’s 125 anniversary celebrations, the STEM Center is hosting the SUU STEAM Campus Scavenger Hunt on Thursday, during the annual open house. Christensen said participants will be given a map to locate STEM activities around campus and those who return to the center with at least five stamps will win a STEM-related prize and will have a chance of winning a group prize.

STEM is a common acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The addition of Arts creates the acronym STEAM.

Additionally, all participating children will be given a “swag bag” of activities they can work on at home, including a BINGO card. Those who get a “blackout,” by completing included tasks before the end of July will be entered to win a larger prize, Christensen said.

“So it’s going to be a really fun summer,” she said. “I think we want to make it so families have cool things to do all summer long.”

Encouraging careers in STEM

The center’s programs can enrich the whole community by sharing ideas with parents to teach children at home, said Christensen, adding that they also provide tutors to help children with homework or concepts parents have forgotten or haven’t learned yet.

The Homework Help program is available online, beginning Sept. 12, to K-12 students who would like help with math and science. According to the website, in-person tutors will be available to high school students at the Cedar High School Library.

Additionally, Christensen said Homework Help will be offered for K-8 students this fall at the Cedar City Library. Participating tutors are college students studying math and science, she added.

Christensen said interest in the center grew because it’s filling an economic need and encouraging local youth to consider STEM careers by helping them learn what’s possible and reducing any fear they might associate with these subjects.

“I think our programs first make it exciting and then we make it possible by helping them with their homework as they progress and get older,” she said.

Christensen said that children learn what careers are possible for them by what they’ve been exposed to, which varies from child to child, but the center can help them see beyond what they were first introduced to.

“We can only make choices according to what was presented before us and if the idea was never introduced, it can’t even be a choice,” she said.

A resource for educators

Project Coordinator Lynn Hicken said the center serves as a resource for teachers and recently began to offer field trip funding to educators who plan STEM-related field trips. In the past, bus and entrance fees for trips to Zion National Park and the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site were covered.

Additionally, both teachers and parents can benefit from the center’s STEM resource library, where they can borrow free educational equipment and lesson kits, some of which are aligned with Science with Engineering Education standards. Among the equipment available are inverted goggles that cause the user to see the world upside-down.

Consumables such as popsicle sticks, clothespins or rubber bands also are available, said Hicken, noting that these do not need to be returned.

The center delivers supplies to teachers in Iron County biweekly and partners with the Southwest Educational Development Center to deliver in Washington, Garfield, Beaver and Kane counties by appointment. However, parents will need to retrieve materials at the STEM Center. Those interested can browse the library’s inventory on the website.

STEM programs

STEM in the Park is a new program held every Tuesday, June 7-28, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Main Street Park, said Christensen, adding that they’ll be hosting outdoor activities like rocket building and using solar ovens.

During that time, the USDA’s Free Summer Lunch Program also will offer free meals to individuals younger than age 18 on a first-come, first-served basis at the park, according to the program’s Facebook page. Christensen said the lunch program and STEM Center formed a partnership to make both as available as possible to the community.

Hicken said Wonder Wednesdays will be offered the third Wednesday of each month during the school year at their office. Wonder Wednesdays rotate between the STEM center, the Southern Utah Museum of Art, the Cedar City Library, the Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum of Natural History and Frontier Homestead State Park Museum, with each hosting one Wednesday a month.

Activities are geared toward children attending grades K-5, but Hicken said anyone is welcome. Previously, the center has organized egg-drop experiments where children create protection for their eggs and test their creations by dropping them from the three-story science building’s balcony. Children have also built miniature lightsabers with LED lights and batteries.

Additionally, the center will offer Toddler Tuesdays 11 a.m.-1 p.m. every Tuesday during the school year, Christensen said. Activities will be developed for children up to age 5 and include exploring the concept of gravity with balls and an introduction to numbers.

Supporting the center

The STEM Center also participates in the Utah Science Olympiad, a national program where teams of students grades 6-12 from across the state will train and compete in events. Academic Enhancement Coordinator in the Department of Engineering and Technology Laurel Dodgion describes the event as an “academic track meet.”

The For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Tech Challenge is part of an international nonprofit program designed to encourage youth to consider STEM careers. Each year teams across Utah participate in a new challenge, then travel to SUU for the championship, Dodgion said, adding that crowds are known to number in the hundreds.

Dodgion said both the Olympiad and FIRST Tech Challenge rely on volunteers to run smoothly. While typically, volunteers are STEM industry professionals or college students, Dodgion said she’d find a place for anyone willing to help, as long as they can pass a background check.

“You don’t have to be an engineer or a chemist or whichever profession it is,” she said. “You can come in and you can help out in many different ways. Don’t let your background scare you out of coming and being a part of this.”

The center is also supported by donors and sponsors, Christensen added, noting that those interested can offer financial support via the website.

SUU STEAM Campus Scavenger Hunt event details

• What: A campuswide scavenger hunt
• When: June 2, from 2-5:30 p.m.
• Where: 351 W University Boulevard, Geoscience building, room 323, Cedar City Utah
• Admission: free

STEM in the Park event details

• What: STEM activities
• When: Tuesdays, June 7-28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Where: Main Street Park, 200 North Main Street, Cedar City, Utah
• Admission: free

To learn more about the STEM Center and other programs they offer, visit its website. Those interested can also follow the center on Facebook and Instagram.

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