ISU hosts hundreds of local students for Bengal STEM Day

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– Idaho State University's annual 'Bengal STEM Day' drew over 500 local middle and high school students to the Pond Student Union building on Thursday to learn more about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

ISU's Department of Science and Engineering started the event to inspire more area students to consider future careers in STEM disciplines, and pique their curiosity about science and engineering by offering hands-on activities and demonstrations.

"We've got so much stuff with science we can be doing that's hands-on, that's interactive, that schools don't necessarily have the resources to do," said Dr. Shannon Kobs Nawotniak, chair of ISU's Department of Geosciences. "It's important for us to actually bring this to the schools, and we do that directly to them or events like this where they can come straight to us."

Representatives from ISU departments and local businesses offered students opportunities to build catapults to learn about mechanical engineering, study plant cells under microscopes, and experience a day in the life of a nuclear energy technician.

ISU students and staff said they pulled out all the stops this Bengal STEM Day, to get kids started early in thinking about joining careers that mechanical engineering PhD student Kyler Bingham said are seeing a shortage of workers.

"We need more STEM people, the workforce for STEM is declining," said Bingham. "Even though there's a big boom coming for robotics and AI we need help in all areas of engineering and all of STEM... we're showcasing a bunch of different activities that anybody can do, really, and hopefully have enough people be interested in STEM to pursue it in the future."