Photos courtesy of Jolene Sheeder.

Guthrie Center Elementary recently celebrated National STEM Day with a daylong event featuring various agencies, organizations, and businesses giving demonstrations and doing hands-on activities with students.

The school also included art with science, technology, engineering, and math activities on November 8th, and among the 21 presenters were Guthrie County Health Services, Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management, Guthrie County Arts Council, Of the Earth Studios, the Army Air National Guard, and Guthrie County Conservation. Instructional Coach Amber Wetzel planned the event, with help from the Southwest Iowa STEM Region. This was the school’s first-ever event, as Wetzel wanted to give students experiences they might not have the rest of the year, and give the teachers a little reprieve after a week of conferences. Wetzel shares what was rewarding about the event, “I enjoyed the excitement from the students. I could hear their excitement. I could see their excitement reading their responses at the end of the day, the things that they enjoyed and activities. And then even my own children bringing home their STEM backpacks from the day and them talking me through the activities that they did and the things that they learned.”

Wetzel surveyed all the students, staff, and presenters that were involved on how their first STEAM Day went, and she expects it to return next year.