Guests Discover the Diversity in STEM at the Science Center’s Community STEM Showcase

Help us inspire a curiosity for STEM. Make a gift to the Science Center’s Curiosity Fund to help support STEM education programs in St. Louis.

Donate Now

Over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, the Saint Louis Science Center once again hosted the annual Community STEM Showcase, a free, all-day event welcoming the St. Louis community to discover the diversity of the scientific community right here in St. Louis.

During the day, guests had the chance to participate in hands-on activities, meet and see presentations from STEM role models representing a variety of backgrounds, and engage with teens from the Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program. This year’s Community STEM Showcase welcomed nearly 3,000 guests to learn that science has space for everyone.

More than 20 local organizations participated in this year’s Community STEM Showcase, representing a wide spectrum of the STEM community.

In the Science Center’s Makerspace, team members facilitated activities where guests could create and learn using a variety of tools and materials.

The Boeing St. Louis National Society of Black Engineers guided guests through activities involving flight simulators and building paper airplanes to learn about the forces of flight. Boeing team members distributed materials on the Boeing FutureU program and technician training course information through Florissant Valley Community College.

The Boeing Company offered attendees the chance to take the controls of flight simulators and shared information about Boeing’s FutureU program, which aims to inspire the next generation of aerospace innovators.

Girls Inc., one of the Science Center’s community partners, offered STEM experiences and hosted a laptop giveaway. And Missouri Kids Unplugged offered a secure bin to recycle and dispose of old cell phones, tablets and laptops, helping the St. Louis community be more sustainable by avoiding e-waste.

The Challenger Learning Center-St. Louis showed guests how to make and launch paper rockets, and for a take-home experience offered DYI STEM kits and other giveaways.

At Energy Stage, STEM presentations from organizations including Saint Louis University and Washington University covered topics ranging from neuroscience, to microplastics, to the engineering process. Wrapping up the day, the Science Center team took to the Energy Stage to present “Our Changing Earth,” one of the Science Demonstrations that routinely engage Science Center guests.

Several local universities took to Energy Stage to share about their work in a number of STEM fields.

Attendees who visited STEMSTL’s table were able to construct a maze using straws, then test their maze by getting a marble to pass through successfully.

The Association of Black Scientists facilitated a live remote camera control activity. And the Gateway Electric Vehicle Association was on site to connect with guests, featuring displays and hands-on demonstrations of how electric vehicles work, as well as the benefits of electric vehicles.

Guests at the Abna Engineering table learned about building and construction.

Fellow Zoo-Museum District (ZMD) institution the Saint Louis Zoo also connected with guests, sharing info on conservation and endangered species. The Center for Plant and Life Sciences gave guests the opportunity to practice their skills with a Pipette (a laboratory tool used in chemistry and biology to transport measurements of liquids), try biotech activities, and participate in giveaways.

The Community STEM Showcase allowed teens from the Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program to engage attendees with hands-on STEM activities involving computer science, engineering, agriscience and more.

Guests who met with the YES Teens had opportunities to take part in engineering activities involving 3D printing, an energy bike, and building solar circuits.

YES Teens facilitated an activity making seed bombs for gardens.

To give guests a look at the science of the natural world, YES Teens facilitated an activity on making seed bombs for gardens, while those interested in computers and computer science could join the YES Teens to learn about building a computer with liquid cooling, participate in a coding exercise against a robot, and play a Jeopardy-style game based on technology.

First-year teens in the four-year YES Program connected with guests and delivered information about Family Math & Science Night activities, one of the Science Center’s STEM learning programs.

YES Teens also engaged guests with a DNA activity exploring how to extract DNA and learn about its presence in living organisms.

Thank you to everyone who was able to participate in this year’s Community STEM Showcase!

See more photos from the day:

Your Support

Support from donors, Science Center members, and Supporting-level members is instrumental in helping the Science Center continue offering connections to science for everyone in our region. If you’d like to show additional support for our mission, please consider donating to the Science Center’s Curiosity Fund, becoming a member, or becoming a Supporting-level member.

Make A Donation

Explore Membership

Supporting Memberships