April 6 is National Biomechanics Day, but the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology celebrates biomechanics every day!  Check out their latest blog to find out how biomechanics improves quality of life for many people.

NIU STEAM reached out to NIU alum Candice King, Emmy nominated chief meteorologist at Rockford’s WTVO Channel 17, WQRF Fox 39 and MyStateLine.com, to find out what it’s like to work as a meteorologist.

Question: Tell us about yourself…

Answer: My name is Candice King. I was born and raised in northern Illinois, and grew up on a dairy farm in Ridott, IL. Weather and farming go pretty much hand in hand and can have a very big impact on the daily life of a farmer. I remember while growing up I would always wonder why on one day it would rain, and then the next it was sunny and dry. While I was interested in weather, it wasn’t the first thing I wanted to study when I was younger. I wanted to become a nurse. But when I was in junior high school, the movie Twister came out and it was right there in the movie theatre that I decided I wanted to study meteorology. 

Q: How did you come to study and later work in meteorology?

A: At first, I thought it would be ‘fun’ to be someone who was on TV, but then I quickly realized that I didn’t really like being in front of people speaking. So, there were a few other meteorology career paths that I thought about while I was in school studying meteorology. But one day I started an internship with another local TV station during my last year of college, and I really enjoyed it. The station had a weekend spot open up, and I quickly moved into that position. That was back in 2005. 

Q: What does a typical workday look like for you?

A: My schedule is usually 1:30 p.m. to about 11 p.m., depending on what is going on with the weather. Some days I need to come in earlier, and some days I need to stay later. We have an editorial meeting around 1:45 p.m. that I attend daily to give an update with the forecast. That usually doesn’t last too long. Once finished, I head back into the weather center to start my day. I spend a couple hours working on the forecast, looking at current weather data, satellite/radar, surface observations, etc. Once I’m done with that, I then begin to look at forecast weather models to put my forecast together. I try to be done with everything around 4:30 p.m., leaving me with just a little under 30 minutes to get ready for the 5 p.m. newscast. We have a 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. during the week. In between shows I will make any changes or adjustments to the forecast, if needed, and update weather stories on the website.

Q: What are some of the skills, knowledge and education needed to be a successful meteorologist?

A: To work as a meteorologist, it’s very helpful to have good communication skills, along with the ability to remain calm during what can be very stressful situations. Education is also important for preparing for a career in meteorology. I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology from Northern Illinois University. It is a four-year program. Before attending NIU, I received my Associate of Science Degree at a community college where I grew up. While I was there, I was able to get most of the required math and physics classes I needed before starting my meteorology courses. There is a lot of math and science involved in earning a meteorology degree.

Q: What are some parts of your work that might surprise people?

A: One thing that may surprise people about being on TV is that even the guys have to wear make-up. And depending on what market you are in, most of the people on TV do their own hair and make-up. Meteorologists put a lot of time and effort into their forecasts – it’s not as easy as some may think. And all of us put our own forecasts together, no copying.

Q: What are some ways your work challenges you?

A: I would have to say one of the challenges with my job is with difficult forecasts, such as a big winter storm or other severe weather. Winter precipitation can sometimes be challenging to forecast because of the range of temperatures that can occur, or a subtle change in the storm track.

Q: What are some struggles you face in your work? And how do you handle them?

A: Another challenge can be some of the negative comments we receive, either on the forecast or how we dress/look. With forecasts, I usually take my time to look through all the data I have available to me, look back at previous storms that may have had similar storm tracks, overall atmospheric conditions, etc., to see what the outcome of those storms were. While no two storms are alike, it can help give me a little more of a clear idea of what could happen. I will also discuss the forecast with the other meteorologists at the station to get their input. When someone makes a comment about the forecast, or perhaps even has a suggestion, I will try to talk with them about it – go through the process of the forecast and see if any compromises can be made (like if they want something adjusted on a graphic, or anything like that). As for the negative comments I receive about my appearance, I try not to let them impact me too much. I usually just delete them and move on. 

Q: What advice would you give to students interested in working in this field?

A: My greatest advice to anyone who would like to pursue a career in meteorology, or any study, is don’t give up! If it’s your dream, follow that dream! I can almost guarantee there will be struggles and bumps along the way, but don’t let those define who you are. Sometimes those bumps and struggles can make us grow even stronger in our field, knowing that we can overcome whatever obstacle we may face.

Q: World Meteorological Day on March 23, 2022, has the theme “Early Warning and Early Action.” What does that mean to you?

A: To me, this means being more prepared for the weather events we may face. Understanding and knowing where you live in your county, where that county is located in your state, and having an overall awareness of weather and climate. And when it is time to take action, take it! Don’t wait until it is too late. For severe weather, that means having multiple ways to receive watch/warning alerts. Having a severe weather plan, practicing that plan, and then implementing that plan when needed.

I also think it means we must understand how our climate is changing, because it IS changing. It’s so very important to understand how our weather patterns will change in the future, and what that means for the overall climate of our world and for the generations that follow us. We need to be more aware of what we’re doing now and how it will have serious impacts to come.

By Debbie Kerman, NIU STEAM Assistant Director, with Newt Liker, NIU STEAM Media Associate

People of every culture have used the ancient art of storytelling to entertain and pass along knowledge. Just look around. From the books we read, to the shows we watch, to the music we listen to and the conversations that take place around the water cooler, it’s easy to see that we’re surrounded by stories.

Stories impact us in so many ways. They help us connect to people and ideas, process and make sense of the world around us, and even improve our ability to learn and remember information. We use stories to teach important life lessons, separate right from wrong, show the relationship between decisions and their consequences, and demonstrate how to handle hardships and failures. Whether real or fictional, we relate to the characters when we identify with their emotions and experiences. The emotions we feel can even inspire and motivate our own behaviors.

Each year, storytellers across the globe celebrate the art of oral storytelling on March 20, World Storytelling Day.

One of the reasons we love storytelling at NIU STEAM is because of the natural way it combines cross-curricular STEM subjects and simplifies complex content to promote a deeper understanding. For example, using the problems characters face in a story is a great place to launch an authentic design challenge. These are the types of activities students regularly engage with at our STEM Read events.

We’d love to learn how you plan to celebrate World Storytelling Day! Here are some of our favorite ideas:

• Pick a traditional story that you enjoy. Break the story down into the beginning (setting the stage), middle (problem or struggle) and end (resolution). Practice telling the story to others, following this format.
• Practice telling a story using only motions – no words! See if your audience can guess what your story is about.
• Interview someone you admire and ask them to share a story from their life.
• Choose your favorite picture book (no words, just pictures) and write out a story to go along with the pictures.
• In a small circle, select one person to begin a story, using one sentence. Moving around the circle, have each person add one sentence to the story, until the story comes to an end. Start the story again, this time asking each person to elaborate with greater detail.

Storytelling and Media

Once good story tellers have fought through their writer’s block, creatively jumped across plot holes and tested unwitting characters, they’re ready to take their writing into the hands of their adoring public. This summer, try something different by attending one of NIU’s camps centered on storytelling. You’ll learn how to share your story through video games, podcast, videos and other cool technologies.

At Creative Media Camp (for middle or high school campers), young writers will create a short story and then craft that story into some form of digital media. You’ll learn a full gamut of skills, ranging from the basics of storytelling to the technicalities of audio or video editing.

If you love Minecraft, then you’ll want to check out our Minecraft and Storytelling Camp for middle schoolers. At the end of the week, campers will come away having built their own 3D world, complete with characters and an endless possibility for adventures.

To learn more about these and other STEAM Camps taking place on the campus of NIU this summer, visit niusteamcamps.com.

By Kristin Brynteson, Ed.D., NIU STEAM director

Happy National Engineers Week! This week we celebrate the difference engineers make in the world and help kids explore the world of engineering.

OK, here at NIU STEAM, we do that every week. But National Engineers Week gives us even more reasons to celebrate all things engineering! That’s easy to do since NIU has a variety of awesome programs to explore in the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET). Granted, I may be a bit biased since my dad (class of 1969), my husband (class of 1994) and I (class of 1996) all have our undergraduate degrees from CEET. 

In my early professional career, many years before I became the director of NIU STEAM, I was a Continuous Improvement Engineer for a division of Textron. It was my job to make sure our manufacturing processes ran smoothly and we got our products to our customers on time. I focused on product throughput, equipment runtime versus downtime, and product quality, as well as the health and safety of the people in the shop. It was a great job and I loved it!

So, what was my path to engineering? The funny thing is, as a kid, I had no interest in engineering. Or so I thought. I never took apart the toaster just to see how it worked. I didn’t really tinker with my dad’s electronics in the basement or engine parts in the garage, but I would watch and ask questions. I always asked questions. I didn’t really care about what was being tinkered with or fixed or built. I was more interested in how it was being done. I was the kid who was always looking for a better, easier way of doing things. I loved the process of doing and exploring how people made things happen. However, I had no desire to pursue a career in engineering. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that despite the fact that my dad was an engineer, I really didn’t know what engineering was. In school, I never explored engineering as a career path. Unlike today, engineering careers were not really promoted or discussed –  at least not to a girl like me, the loud cheerleader with average grades who asked too many questions.

It wasn’t until my second year of college, and the fifth time I changed my major, that I stumbled on to the field of Industrial Engineering, an engineering discipline focused on optimizing processes and systems. For the girl always looking for the best way to do things, it was a perfect fit. It was the ah-ha moment I needed. Three years and one engineering internship later, I graduated and started my career as a Continuous Improvement Engineer. My only regret was not knowing about it earlier. It would have saved me from bouncing around majors, trying to find a fit.

I know that my path to engineering is not unique. It takes just one ah-ha moment or one discussion with the right person to spark an interest. Even today, there are kids out there asking questions, looking for ways to make the world better, who don’t know about all the opportunities available to them as an engineer. National Engineer Week is the perfect time to help them see what’s possible!

Here are some tips and ideas for introducing your curious problem solvers to the wide variety of engineering careers – including some of the resources, videos and podcasts available from NIU STEAM.

 Tips and Ideas for Educators, Parents and Scout Leaders

• Invite a variety of engineers into your classroom or troop meeting as guest speakers. If there are no engineers available, here are some videos and podcasts you can use with your students.
  • Video: The Joys of Mechanical Engineering, with Alanna Wilcox.
  • STEM Read podcast: The sky isn’t the Limit with Aerospace Engineer Mishaal Ashemimry, the first Saudi woman to work for NASA.
  • STEM Read podcast: Big Ideas for Little Makers, about teaching maker concepts to younger students.
  • Failure Bites Podcast: Defining your Own Success with Netia McCray.
  • Sound of Science Podcast: Industrial Engineering.
  • Video: NIU STEM Fest 2020 Student Panel.
• Pick an everyday item and discuss what problem the item solved. Investigate all the people involved in making that item and what role they played.
• Have your students work together to solve a problem or improve something in your classroom, building or home.
• For more classroom or scout troop ideas, check out the videos below and hear how several Illinois STEAM Teachers are bringing engineering into their classrooms.
  • Rosie Revere, Engineer: Engineering & Discovery w/ Author Andrea Beaty
  • Using the Design Cycle in the Classroom
  • Design Challenges in Science Class
  • The Junk Box Challenge
  • Engineering in Elementary

Even though I no longer work as an engineer, I use the knowledge and skills I learned as an engineer every day. Asking questions and looking for ways to continuously improve are key life skills. Even if your young people are not heading down an engineering career path, it’s important to build those skills. It is also important to understand how engineers impact our world and make it a better place.  

Hopefully this has inspired you to explore ways to introduce your students to the exciting world of engineering. Have a great National Engineers Week! Don’t forget to thank an engineer!

By
Courtney Shimp, NIU student majoring in mechanical engineering
Cindy Gomez, NIU student majoring in electrical engineering
Lauren Gratzke, NIU student majoring in biomedical engineering

The Society of Women Engineers works to promote diversity in the engineering and tech professions, upholds an inclusive environment, advocates for the inclusion and success of women, both present and prospective, in engineering and works to develop women engineers at all stages in their personal and professional lives.

NIU’s Society of Women Engineers works to uphold these values by volunteering at Sycamore Middle School at an all-girls STEM club, G-Force. G-Force works to encourage and inspire girls to pursue their passions for STEM. As a club we help the girls with homework, help set-up and run labs, and share our experiences as women in STEM. Getting to talk to the girls about their passion for STEM is a great way for us as a club to help inspire and encourage the next generation of STEM students.

Society of Women Engineers values being mentors and role models for our community so that any girls wanting to pursue STEM degrees and careers can have someone to look up to that they can see themselves in.

This past semester we assisted the girls in a national challenge to solve an environmental problem in our community. For this challenge we helped to research environmental problems in our community, determined that the environmental issue our community faces is flooding, and designed solutions to the environmental problem using the engineering design process.

This semester we are working on implementing the solutions we have come up with to the flooding in our community. Our goal is to plant a wetland garden to help slow the flow of water before it reaches the Kishwaukee River. This would help slow flooding in the area due to the native plants that will be planted and slow the amount of debris that ends up in the Kishwaukee River. G-Force also hopes to provide rain barrels to everyone in the community and install a supply of dog waste bags along walking trails to encourage dog owners to pick up their pet’s waste to clear up the path.

“The first time I learned about engineering was from my brother who graduated from civil engineering when I was a kid. At the time, I didn’t know exactly what it entailed but I knew building bridges was a path that could be taken and how important it was to have people to work on the structures and keep them safe and usable for the public. Once I started thinking about what I wanted to do as a career, I knew right away that I should research different types of engineering. Mechanical or electrical never really appealed to me, but as soon as I found biomedical, something stuck in my head that sounded appealing. I liked the idea of being involved in the medical industry in a different way than becoming a doctor or nurse, while also pushing myself into a degree that I knew would constantly challenge me. Although the degree hasn’t always been as fun as it was a challenge, every class I took showed me that I made the right choice from the beginning. Through classes I learned that biomaterials were a special interest I took. Being able to make a medical device better or create an alternative is the direction I want to look in the next few years, while also keeping my eyes open for tasks I have never thought of before that might interest me.”

Lauren Gratzke

NIU’s Society of Women Engineers values being able to mentor girls at the middle school level so that we can help encourage the students to pursue STEM careers and to also show them that they are capable of achieving their goals in STEM. Research done by the Society of Women Engineers National found that in 2017 the percentage of freshman undergrad students who intended to pursue degrees in STEM was 27.9% of men and 9.5% of women. While this percentage is growing it is still significantly lower for women than it is for men. Professionally, women in engineering make up 13% of the engineering workforce. By mentoring at the middle school level NIU’s Society of Women Engineers hope to help create change and see these percentages grow with the next generation.

To follow what NIU Society of Women Engineers is doing, take a look at:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Website
• Email: niu.swe@gmail.com

About the Authors

Courtney Shimp – I’m a mechanical engineering major graduating Spring 2024. I first learned about engineering as a major and career in middle school at a career day event. A large portion of my decision to study mechanical engineering happened due to a job shadow I was able to complete in high school. I job shadowed a female engineer and it was an eye-opening experience showing that what I wanted to achieve was possible. I plan on working in the aerospace industry, specifically with product and process design.

Cindy Gomez – I am a senior majoring in Electrical Engineering. After I graduate from NIU my next step will be to start working at Collins Aerospace as a Systems Engineer in Power & Controls. My plan is to go back to school to get my master’s degree in engineering management. My mom encouraged me to pursue engineering as a major, but I did not feel interested in pursuing it. Like any parent who wants the best for their kids she introduced me to engineers who worked with her at Abbott. After speaking with them I learned more and more about engineering and decided to give it a try. I signed up for the Pathways Program with my high school and started taking an Introduction to Engineering course. In this course we were given different projects to work on throughout the year. We used SolidWorks to design different things to 3D print. We also were taught to use different machines like a laser cutter, 3D printer, Saw Machine and many others. I had a lot of fun learning about engineering design principles and seeing my designs come to life, so I decided to take the class that came after. This was a Digital Electronics class where we learned how to use circuit design software to build basic electrical circuits. We also were taught how to use a voltage supply and build a circuit using a breadboard. I absolutely loved this class so much that I started to think about majoring in electrical engineering. Thanks to my parents I am now a senior majoring in electrical engineering and learned that is my passion!

Lauren Gratzke – I have spent the last five years at NIU studying biomedical engineering. I am currently a senior, set to graduate in Fall 2022. I have been in a number of clubs over the years, one of them being the Society of Women Engineers, and I have the privilege to serve as the club’s vice president for the year. Being in engineering has allowed me to meet many people who will be connections for a long time.

By Becky Griffith, NIU STEAM Educator

Next week is Valentine’s Day, a day set aside each year to celebrate love. As a maker, I love to show my friends and family just how much they mean to me with handmade gifts that come straight from the heart. This year, try making your own paper Valentine from scraps you find lying around your house.

Handmade Paper Valentines:

 Materials needed:

• 3 bins or bowls.
• 1 cup water.
• Approximately 5 sheets of paper, torn into small pieces or shreds.
• Tempera Paint, powdered spices, coffee, powdered makeup, or crushed pastels.
• Old nylon stockings.
• Picture frame with glass removed.
• Heart shaped cookie cutter or stencil.
• 2 cotton towels or t-shirts.
• Spatula (optional).
• Pen or marker.

Before you get started, you’ll want to prep your space. Set out your three bins: one for your scraps, one for your pulp, and one for draining. Prep your bin for draining by covering it in a nylon stocking. Make sure it’s tight enough that you can push down with some resistance. Then, prepare a space to dry your paper.

Begin by placing about 1 cup of water in your pulp bin. (Note: If you begin with too much water, you’ll need to add more paper.) Next, add your torn pieces of paper to the water in your pulp bin. Let the paper soak in the water for about 10 minutes. Then, mix, tear and mash the paper, turning it into a pulp. Making the pulp can take some time, so be patient. A tip for making this go faster is to use a blender!

If you would like to dye your paper, mix in some tempera paint, powdered spices, coffee, powdered makeup, or crushed pastels until you reach the desired color.

Cover your picture frame with the nylon by inserting the frame into the nylon stocking. (You could also use a flat metal strainer for this part, it you have one.) Set your frame on top of the draining bin. The holes in the nylon will allow for the water to drain into the bin below. Place the heart shaped cookie cutter or stencil on top of the nylon covering the picture frame.

Scoop up the pulp and put it inside of the cookie cutter. (When doing this step, resist the impulse to squeeze the water out of the pulp. If the pulp becomes too dry at this step, it will be hard to get the pulp to lie down flat.)

Once all the pulp is in the cookie cutter, gently pat down on it to press out the excess water and set the pulp into the shape. Use a cotton towel or old t-shirt to continue to gently pat out the excess water.

Carefully remove the cookie cutter from the pulp, trying to not disturb the shape. Then, pick up the frame and flip it upside down onto your drying cloth. (If you have a spatula, you can use it for this step.) Using your palm, gently pat down on the back of the nylon to drain more water out. Carefully remove the frame, taking caution to ensure your paper remains on the drying towel and doesn’t break. Continue to gently press out the water with your cotton cloth.

Set your paper aside for several hours or overnight to allow time to dry. Once your paper is dry, write your Valentine message and share with someone special!

Check out this video to see Becky’s papermaking process, as well as another Valentine’s Day craft featuring printmaking.

By Kelly Furr, NIU STEAM Educator

January 28 is National LEGO Day.  These iconic bricks are fun to play with and you can build anything with them! Since I’m an educator who focuses on using food to teach STEAM concepts, I thought I’d share with you some of the fun ways LEGO and food come together. And don’t forget to keep reading below to find out how to celebrate National Puzzle Day with puzzle cookies.

LEGO Candy Fun

A fun idea is to create a candy machine dispenser with your bricks, or you can make your own gummy LEGO set.

Instructions to create your own candy dispenser can be found at FrugalFun4Boys or Instructables.

You can also make your own gummy candy and put them in a LEGO mold to create gummy LEGO bricks or figures. (I know this might sound complicated, but I tried it at home, and it really worked!)

You need the following ingredients to create your own gummies:

• ½ cup water
• 1 package of flavored gelatin (Jell-O) (3 oz package)
• 2 packets of unflavored gelatin such as Knox
• ¼ cup light corn syrup

Equipment:

• Liquid measuring cup
• Glass jar or bowl to mix
• Pot
• Stove or electric burner
• Spatula
• Squeeze bottle
• LEGO mold (available to purchase online)
• Refrigerator

Directions

1. Start by measuring the water using a liquid measuring cup and pour into your mixing jar or bowl. 
2. Add both the unflavored gelatin and the flavored gelatin and stir.  Be sure to fully mix the gelatin with the water until you have a smooth texture without any clumps or lumps. 
3. Mix in ¼ cup of corn syrup. 
4. Once combined, heat on medium-low heat until the mixture is clear (about 2-4 minutes), and everything is dissolved. 
5. After the mixture has been dissolved, allow to cool slightly.  
6. Pour the mixture into a squirt bottle.  This will help you pour the liquid into the LEGO molds with less mess. 
7. Let sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to settle. 
8. Build, play and enjoy your bricks! 

Puzzling Cookies

January 29 is National Puzzle Day. Have you ever tried to make a puzzle with food? Using sugar cookies, you and the young people in your life can create your own cookie puzzle to celebrate.  Make sugar cookies from scratch or used premade sugar cookies available at the grocery store. 

To make the puzzle cookies:

1. Roll out sugar-cookie dough to ¼ inch thick on parchment paper with flour. 
2. Slide onto a baking sheet and bake until golden in a 350-degree oven (about 12 minutes). 
3. Remove from the oven and while the cookie is still warm, create your puzzle pattern with a knife. 
4. Allow to cool completely before separating the pieces. 
5. Decorate your puzzle pieces with frosting or sprinkles – create your own art masterpiece puzzle and celebrate National Puzzle Day in a fun, unique way!

We hope you’ll take a photo and share your creations! Tag NIU STEAM on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram so we can see how your projects turned out.

By Debbie Kerman, Assistant Director, NIU STEAM

So when does $100,000 become $922,000+? When students invest it in The Stock Market Game™ program, a financial education simulation used in thousands of classrooms nationwide to teach students about our capital market system and the long-term benefits of saving and investing.

This fall, a team of twelfth grade students from York High School in Elmhurst, IL, did something I’ve never seen in all my years of coordinating The Stock Market Game™ program in Illinois. Outperforming the S & P 500 by more than 820%, the student team, led by Ryan Pajak and consisting of teammates Ryan Marti and Matthew Huffman, finished the game session having turned their $100,000 virtual cash account into $922,918 over the course of just thirteen weeks.

The Stock Market Game™ program is a product of the SIFMA Foundation. The Illinois Bankers Association is the Illinois provider of the SMG, and we’re thrilled that we’ve been able to partner with them as they offer the program without cost to schools in Illinois.

The Stock Market Game™ program is a perfect fit for us because it lines up with the six learning catalysts that provide the framework for NIU STEAM. Here’s a bit more about what students learn by playing – and how Pajak and his team succeeded so stunningly!

• Catalyst 1: Problem (Project)-based Learning. Unless you plan to work until the day you die, everyone needs to prepare for their financial future. When you’re able to retire and what type of lifestyle you’re able to afford is largely dependent upon how much you save and how well you manage your savings and investments over the long term. Students in The Stock Market Game™ program engage in a real-world investment simulation to learn how our capital market system works and how they can utilize it to their advantage by growing an investment portfolio. Even though the money is not real, stock transactions are processed in real-time prices, reinforcing the real-world experience. Pajak and his team managed their portfolio during the fall semester, beginning September 7 and concluding December 3, 2021.
• Catalyst 2: STEAM Concepts and Content. Students have so much fun learning about companies and markets that they don’t even realize the math, history, economics, research and decision-making skills and knowledge they’re gaining through the process. Pajak’s team used a variety of websites to conduct research and chart the patterns to track the volatility of stocks they identified and placed on a watchlist.
• Catalyst 3: 21^st Century Skills. Throughout the game session, students work together in teams to research, build and manage a simulated portfolio of real-world stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Pajak and his teammates collaborated to determine the best way to invest their funds. They used critical thinking skills to evaluate potential investments based on their personal risk tolerances and predictions about how the holdings might perform. Throughout the day, his team used a text group chat to communicate about what stocks to buy and sell. Working together allowed Pajak and his teammates to share their knowledge with one another.
• Catalyst 4: Growth and Persistence. Sometimes investments don’t perform as expected. When that happens, students can reevaluate whether they continue to retain a holding or sell it off. Every decision has consequences, and students see those consequences first-hand in their portfolio’s performance. As a result of their productive struggle, students discover solutions that help them make sense of their “failures” and learn to see them as part of the process that ultimately leads them to success. One of the take-aways Pajak and his team learned from stocks that performed poorly for them was to average down or add to their holding of the low-performing stock to bring down the average cost of the holding and lower their breakeven point.
• Catalyst 5: Career Connections. The Stock Market Game experience exposes students to a variety of financial service careers, such as securities trader, financial planner, portfolio manager, financial analyst and more. I’m not sure if Pajak is looking into a financial services career. He has certainly demonstrated a strong understanding of what it takes to be successful in growing an investment portfolio. Either way, I’m confident this experience will benefit him as he prepares for his own financial future.
• Catalyst 6: Trans-disciplinary Approaches. Because students have the freedom to research and invest in any stocks and mutual funds listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and the New York Stock Exchange as well as a variety of pre-determined municipal, corporate, and Treasury bonds, students are empowered to explore options driven by their interests. Pajak credits some of his team’s success to technical analysis, a strategy used by some investors who attempt to predict the future price of a stock using market data patterns. Over the course of the summer, Pajak taught himself to use technical analysis to attempt to predict the future movement of a stock. 

Students who participate in The Stock Market Game™ program gain a fundamental understanding of investing through a hands-on learning experience that prepares them for financial independence. To learn more about incorporating The Stock Market Game™ program into your STEAM program, contact Debbie Jemison, Financial Literacy Director, at Illinois Bankers, djemison@illinois.bank.

By Kristin Brynteson, NIU STEAM Director

Fall traditions are my favorite. Watching a football game, taking a hike to see all the beautiful colors, a trip to the apple orchard for cider donuts and, of course, planning STEM Fest!

On October 23, NIU and the NIU STEAM team hosted our twelfth STEM Fest! STEM Fest is an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering and math. For attendees it’s a day filled with hands-on exhibits, interactive talks and engaging activities. It showcases all the innovation and exploration happening on and around campus and is a place where people of all ages can let their curiosity run wild as they explore everything the event has to offer. This year we were so excited to bring STEM Fest to the heart of campus so we could showcase not only the research and artistry happening at NIU but the NIU campus itself. It was amazing to see all our STEM Fest guests having a great time!

If you’ve been to STEM Fest, you might not have had time to think about everything that goes into planning an event of that size. I know, we make it seem easy. It only seems that way because of how we use the design cycle to help us plan. We say that continuous improvement is central to everything we do, and planning STEM Fest is no exception.

Here’s how our continuous improvement mindset and the design cycle (ask, plan, create, evaluate) helps us take STEM Fest from an idea to a reality.  

We start by asking questions. Questions such as: “What worked last year? What might be different this year? What new and exciting things are happing on campus that we need to highlight?” These questions start immediately after the event. (Ok, maybe not immediately because after STEM Fest, we are all tired.) Debriefing and starting to ask questions about what next year will look like is our first step in planning.   

Planning for STEM Fest takes months. We spend time brainstorming ideas and discussing our questions, looking for answers and new ideas. We create a project plan with all the key milestones to help keep the planning on track. We identify and document all the details, big and small, that are needed to make the event a success.

The plan is put into action as we create an event that will engage, excite and inspire all who attend. After months of planning and preparation, seeing it all come together is amazing! During the event, you see the STEAM Team members not only interacting with the thousands of attendees, volunteers and exhibitors, but also observing and paying attention to what’s working and what might not be going as planned. We also make sure to collect feedback data through surveys and discussions. We’re making sure that everyone is leaving with a smile. (Incidentally, if you haven’t taken our STEM Fest survey yet, we’d love your feedback! You can find it here.)

You would think that once the day is over, the work is done. The smiling faces have gone home, our exhibitors have cleaned up their spaces and our displays are packed away for next year. But this isn’t the end of the STEM Fest story.  Now it’s time to review and analyze all the data to evaluate the event. The feedback and data give us concrete evidence on the success of STEM Fest. Not to mention some great quotes from our guests. We use the data as we debrief and discuss what went well, what needs to be improved and what we should include next year.

This starts the cycle again.

Even after 12 years, we’re still learning and finding news ways to make the event awesome. Each year gets better because we have a continuous improvement mindset and use the design cycle to guide us. Be sure to join us next year to see what new and exciting things we have in store for STEM Fest 2022.