8 minute read
Cover story
from MidWeek_102021
by Shaw Media
Northern Illinois University graduate assistants prepare drones to be used during NIU STEM Fest on Saturday, Oct. 23, in the heart of Northern Illinois University’s DeKalb central campus. Pictured (from left) are Ina Murphy, Matthew Swed and Natalia Velazco.
Katrina J.E. Milton - kmilton@shawmedia.com
NIU STEM Fest aims to spark interest with hands-on activities, talks
By KATRINA J.E. MILTON
kmilton@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – K.C. Sauer first fell in love with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) when he was 3 or 4 years old and learned about tornadoes.
Matthew Swed enjoys STEM because of how complex math can be. Ina Murphy has studied and taught video game design, 3-D environments and models. Natalia Velazco studies how science and art complement each other. Kristin Brynteson was hooked on STEM after learning how to make things at her uncle’s auto parts shop.
Their love for STEM topics inspired their involvement in this year’s Northern Illinois University STEM Fest.
The free event will be held in person and feature more than 80 exhibits with hands-on activities, crafts and talks.
STEM Fest will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, in the heart of NIU’s central campus in the Holmes Student Center, MLK Commons and Founders Memorial Library.
Free parking is available in the NIU parking garage and in any non-reserved parking spot on campus. If the weather is sunny, there will be a solar power shuttle from the Chick Evans Fieldhouse to the southwest corner of the MLK Commons.
Brynteson, director of NIU STEAM, describes STEM Fest as “a free event that’s open to the community, all ages.”
“It’s a day to celebrate and explore how STEM influences and is connected to everything we do,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for the community to talk to staff, faculty and students. They can see the cutting edge research being done here on campus and it’s a way to showcase our university as well.”
Scouts and youth groups can earn patches at the event. This year’s learners will have the opportunity to earn the “Find Your Spark” patch, the “Passport to My Future” patch, as well as multiple mini patches.
This will be the 12th year for STEM Fest. Last year, the event was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event began as a haunted physics lab and has grown since then.
“There will be the haunted physics lab, Tesla coils, a drone cage, buildyour-own blinkie, where they can learn to solder a flashing pin, the NIU Steelband Ensemble, the NIU Supermileage team, the NIU Mars Rover team, three food trucks, the DeKalb High School FFA, and STEM experts giving talks,” Byrnteson said. “There will be paper airplane competitions, an upcycling activity to turn T-shirts into tote bags, a weather balloon launch and the science behind making cotton candy.”
On the Curiosity Stage, located in Founders Memorial Library, there will be talks by STEM experts. Topics include invasive species in Illinois waterways and Great Lakes; archiving dime novels; the NASA Perseverance Mission presented by James “Joel” Knapper, NASA Solar System Ambassador for the past 12 years; the physics of football; and how aerobics and strength training can improve brain function.
Sauer said what he enjoys most about STEM Fest is how it “makes STEM doable for everybody.”
“It links fun into all of the topics,” he said. “It shows what careers are available in the fields and connects STEM to topics they might not know are STEM-related.”
Brynteson said the annual event’s activities, events and activities show “how STEM is all around us.”
“STEM is in everything we see every day,” she said. “It’s a way to show the breadth of STEM and to connect the fields to other topics. … STEM Fest allows people to wander around, try, see, touch and learn. Something might interest them. Our hope is that it sparks their interest and they keep questioning.”
For more information about NIU’s STEM Fest, visit www.niusteam.niu. edu. To volunteer for the event, visit the event’s website.
THE MIDWEEK
DeKALB – Frequent readers of Pam Otto and those who just love nature can meet the naturalist and columnist at Glidden Homestead.
At 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, Otto will present “The Good Natured Hour,” looking at recent events in local nature as well as other fun items like reader emails.
Otto writes the column “Good Natured,” which appears in the Daily Chronicle and other northern Illinois newspapers. Otto has a master’s degree in outdoor education from Northern Illinois University and has worked in the naturalist department at the St. Charles Park District since 2007.
Otto’s column covers a wide range of topics – everything from fungi to plants to animals, including insects and spiders.
“Pam Otto is a favorite columnist of many readers of the Chronicle,” Rob Glover, Glidden Homestead executive director, said in a news release. “Fans can meet and hear Pam live and new fans will discover new ways to see and love nature.”
Also, from noon to 4 p.m. that day, visitors can tour Joseph Glidden’s Home and Homestead where barbed wire was invented, see a working blacksmith shop, and visit the 1870s brick barn.
Programs at Glidden Homestead are made possible in part by the Mary E. Stevens Concert and Lecture Fund.
This year’s theme is “A Treasure at 160” since 2021 marks the 160th anniversary of Joseph Glidden’s home. A National Register of Historic Place site, it is the home where Glidden lived when he invented barbed wire. The home was extensively remodeled in 1910 by a prominent architect and continued as a Glidden family residence until it became a museum in 1998.
Joseph Glidden developed barbed wire in DeKalb in 1873 and went on to patent numerous other inventions. Barbed wire production continued at the homestead site through the winter of 1873 into the spring of 1874, when the operation moved into town.
Glidden built the Glidden House Hotel in downtown DeKalb that opened in 1877. In June 1879, J.F. Glidden Publishing bought the DeKalb County Chronicle that had been started earlier that year. Glidden was mayor of DeKalb from 1881-1883.
The Glidden Homestead, located at 921 W. Lincoln Highway, is taking reservations for tours. Admission is $4 per adult and free for children younger than 14.
For more information, visit www. gliddenhomestead.org, email info@ gliddenhomestead.org or call 815-7567904.
Photo provided Pam Otto, Daily Chronicle columnist and outreach ambassador for the St. Charles Park District, will speak at the Glidden Homestead in DeKalb on Sunday, Oct. 24.
THE MIDWEEK
Northern Illinois University and DeKalb County will again host the Illinois High School Association Football State Championships Nov. 26-27 at NIU’s Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
Event volunteers have been instrumental to the success of State Championship Weekend, and the IHSA Destination DeKalb host committee is seeking assistance from the local communities, schools, groups and organizations to welcome thousands of visitors to the NIU campus and DeKalb County in November.
Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age and cannot be a current high school student. Volunteer positions include ticket scanners, ushers, parking personnel and event staff for at least one of the three available shifts: 8 a.m. to noon, noon to 4 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
Individuals and groups interested in contributing to an event that highlights NIU and the local community to students, families and visitors from across the state can register to volunteer at ihsadestinationdekalb.
Shaw Media file photo
com/volunteer.
In collaboration with the IHSA, the IHSA Destination DeKalb Host Committee is providing an opportunity for monetary compensation to partner school and community organizations and groups that can secure at least 10 or more volunteers for one or both days of championship weekend.
Individuals certified in cash handling and interested in selling tickets or assisting with collection of parking fees can contact Marqia George directly at 708-870-2372 or marqiaalison@gmail.com.
More information about volunteering or sponsorship opportunities with the 2021 IHSA State Football Championships at Huskie Stadium is available at ihsadestinationdekalb.com.
Trick-or-treating hours set
Ghosts and ghouls of all ages are invited to trick-or-treat throughout DeKalb County on Halloween, Sunday, Oct. 31, during the following hours:
Cortland – 4 to 8 p.m.
DeKalb – 4 to 7 p.m.
Genoa – 4 to 7 p.m.
Kingston – 4 to 7 p.m.
Kirkland – 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Hinckley – 4 to 8 p.m.
Malta – 4 to 8 p.m.
Maple Park – 4 to 7 p.m.
Sandwich – 4 to 7 p.m.
Shabbona – 4 to 7 p.m.
Somonauk – 4 to 7 p.m.
Sycamore – 4 to 8 p.m.
Waterman – 4 to 8 p.m.
Genoa VFW, Legion to meet
The Genoa Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8387 meets the third Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. followed by the American Legion meeting at 7 p.m. at the Genoa Veterans Home, 311 S. Washington St. in Genoa.
The next meeting will be Oct. 21.
Any honorably discharged veterans who have served in a war zone during any war are welcome.
– The MidWeek
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