Greetings and Happy 9^th Birthday STEM West!

This year brings excitement as STEM West has grown from four school district partners to nine, crossing six counties from Iredell to Macon reaching farther into western NC. The return on investment (ROI) for the region continues to be over 700% thanks to several grants, donors, and community partners. Projects have included LEGO Classpacks for students from Prek to middle schools, app/coding grants, EdCamp STEM West for educators, STEM Trek (a NC Science Festival event for 6300+ 10^th graders), Dogwood Health Trust grants for afterschool programs, and much more.
Over the last 9 years, STEM West has been privileged to provide STEM based learning opportunities for over 2400 educators impacting over 33,000 students, and engaging 6500 community members. The work has not, and could not, be done in isolation. STEM West continues to be blessed with MANY “smart friends” and partners who share a similar vision. This year STEM West was provided the opportunity to bring on Dr. Donna Heavner as the Program Director as we continue to reach more rural communities, thanks to funding provided by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
Our western rural counties hit so drastically by Hurricane Helene, will need even more assistance to rebuild and improve their STEM programming that is so beneficial for all students. Even as we celebrate another birthday, there is an urgency to serve the community. STEM West will continue to work across rural western NC to provide access to each and every student to a high-quality STEM education.

Dr. Carol Moore

STEM Trek is a community event that has been a standing partnership for over seven years between STEM West, the Catawba Science Center (CSC) and the Greater Hickory International Council (GHIC). The CSC has readily provided space for the event, while the GHIC continues to provide funding and volunteers. Other partners include the Pepsi Distribution Center and the NC Science Festival. This NC Science Festival Event has seen families return each year to learn about regional STEM careers and have fun doing science together. After seven years, the planning team wants to develop a similar event for high school students who are just beginning to establish their career pathways. As a result, STEM Trek 2025 will be hosted at the Hickory Metro Center to be able to provide over 50 businesses space to exhibit hands-on activities related to their employment opportunities. This event will cost approximately $50,000 as it is a FREE event for over 6,600 students and the public. 

STEM Trek 2025 will be a 2-day event. All businesses/organizations will set up their demonstration tables with hands-on activities on April 15th, 2025. On April 16-17 the 10th graders will be scheduled to tour the Hickory Metro to visit and interact with the regional STEM businesses for approximately 90 minutes. These interactions will focus on learning about STEM careers in the region. These careers will range from high school diplomas/credentials to 2-year and 4-year degrees. 

A new addition to the event there will be a community job fair and family engagement time. After students return to school on April 16th, from 3:00-6:00, the event will open to the public for family visits and a job fair. HR representatives will be present at this time to conduct interviews and assist with application completions. Since this event is after school hours, participating businesses will continue to provide activities for children and youth while adults will be interacting with HR personnel to work on applications. Children will readily want to engage with the hands-on activities, having fun learning STEM!

This event could not take place without support from our local community partners. Google is the lead sponsor for STEM Trek 2025. Corning Incorporated and GKN have also stepped up to the plate to provide funding towards the NC Science Festival Event.  HPG Hyperformance Graphics in Conover is providing the signage for the event.

What is a NC STEM School of Distinction?

The NC STEM Schools of Distinction (SSoD) program was developed to identify and recognize exemplary STEM schools and STEM programs in North Carolina. The application process rubric is built around NCDPI’s STEM Attributes, which describe the characteristics of a high-quality STEM school. STEM schools provide students at all grade levels with consistent opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills aligned with the needs of our current and emerging regional workforce.

Schools are recognized as meeting the Prepared or Model Level of Achievement. Regardless of status, schools exemplify outstanding leadership and learning, which empower keen creative thinking, reasoning and teamwork – the underpinnings of 21st-century skills. Schools recognized under Model Level of Achievement go even further by systemically interweaving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into complementary coursework in the arts, career and technical education, English language arts, healthful living, and world history.

STEM West is partnering with
Be Pro Be Proud for STEM Trek 2025.

STEM West hosted EDCAMP 2025 on February 1st, 2025 at the Morganton campus of NC School of Science and Math.  60+ teachers attended the event.

The EDCAMP STEM West had everything that you expect from an edcamp; dynamic conversations with dedicated educators; relevant sessions created by and lead by the participants; cutting edge pedagogy that will inspired us.  We shared ideas to motivate students. It truly was a morning filled with learning focused on science, technology, engineering and math. EDCAMP STEMWest was for all educators interested in learning and motivating our young people in this ever changing, technology-rich world.

What is FIRST^® LEGO^® League?

FIRST^® LEGO^® League introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children ages 4-16* through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem solving experience through a guided, global robotics program, helping today’s students and teachers build a better future together.
The three divisions inspire youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics.

Platinum Level Partners 

Silver Level Partners

School District Partners