State of Illinois

11/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/31/2024 09:50

STEAM Newsletter Vol. 47

STEAM Newsletter Vol. 47

STEAM Newsletter - Friday, November 1, 2024
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Celebrate National STEAM Day!

Join in the national celebration of STEM/STEAM Day on November 8, 2024 and encourage students to explore STEM/STEAM careers. The U.S. Department of Defense "Celebrating National STEM Day"shares helpful information about STEM careers, activities, and resources.

Discover online resources that may spark interest in STEM/STEAM. Live cams and videos from the San Diego Zoo or Learn Online with Shedd Aquarium provide educational content that students may find interesting. ChemVLab+ is a flexible, multi-media virtual chemistry lab that enables high school students to perform experiments and analyze data at no cost. Introduce students in grades K-5 to "I am the future of STEM" coloring and activity book from the U.S. Department of Defense. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's "NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database" includes guides, modules, videos, and activities that may spark curiosity based on different grade bands. The National Inventors Hall of Fame shares STEM Resources for Educators and hosts free activities to use in the classroom. And, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers an online virtual tour that students control with their mouse!

Plan now to celebrate Computer Science Education Week scheduled December 9-15, 2024. This annual opportunity inspires students to learn about computer science and promotes equity in computer science education. Educators and families are encouraged to organize activities that recognize the importance of computer science and coding through resources such as Hour of Code activities.

Chicago Department of Family & Support Services, CS for Success, Discovery Partners Institute, and Google are hosting the second annual High-Tech CHI from 9:30am to 2:30pm on Saturday, December 7, 2024. We invite students in grades K-14, families, and the broader Chicagoland community to join us at Google Chicago - Fulton Market for this event where we will explore computing in celebration of Computer Science Education Week. Registration is required to attend this free event. Explore and spark curiosity!

Let off some STEAM with these fun activities!

Recent News on STEAM

"Two pioneers of artificial intelligence-John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton-won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for helping create the building blocks of machine learning that is revolutionizing the way we work and live but also creates new threats for humanity.

Hinton, who is known as the godfather of artificial intelligence, is a citizen of Canada and Britain who works at the University of Toronto, and Hopfield is an American working at Princeton.

"These two gentlemen were really the pioneers," said Nobel physics committee member Mark Pearce.

The artificial neural networks-interconnected computer nodes inspired by neurons in the human brain-the researchers pioneered are used throughout science and medicine and "have also become part of our daily lives," said Ellen Moons of the Nobel committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences."

"As our digital world generates massive amounts of data - more than 2 quintillion bytes of new content each day - yesterday's storage technologies are quickly reaching their limits. Optical memory devices, which use light to read and write data, offer the potential of durable, fast and energy-efficient storage.

Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have proposed a new type of memory, in which optical data is transferred from a rare earth element embedded within a solid material to a nearby quantum defect. Their analysis of how such a technology could work was published in Physical Review Research.

"We worked out the basic physics behind how the transfer of energy between defects could underlie an incredibly efficient optical storage method," said Giulia Galli, an Argonne senior scientist and Liew Family Professor at PME. ​"This research illustrates the importance of exploring first-principles and quantum mechanical theories to illuminate new, emerging technologies.""

"Ever since the first quantum computers were dreamt up in the early 1980s, researchers have looked forward to the day the devices could solve problems that are too difficult for classical computers. In the past five years, the machines have finally begun to challenge their classical cousins - although definitive victory over them has remained elusive.

Now, in the latest chapter of the battle to achieve this 'quantum advantage', researchers at Google say they have determined the conditions under which quantum computers can beat their classical counterparts. To understand these conditions, they used a quantum-computer processor named Sycamore to run random circuit sampling (RCS), a simple quantum algorithm that essentially generates a random sequence of values.

The team analysed Sycamore's output and found that when it ran in a mode with a lot of noise interference while performing RCS, it could be 'spoofed', or beaten, by classical supercomputers. But, when the noise was lowered to a certain threshold, Sycamore's computation became complex enough that spoofing it was effectively impossible - by some estimates, it would take the fastest classical supercomputer in the world ten trillion years. The finding, first reported in a preprint on the arXiv server last year, was published today in Nature1."

"Taking inspiration from enzymes, chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed a catalyst to simplify the synthesis of ethers, key functional components of many drugs, foods, personal care items and other consumer goods. The catalyst puts the two chemical ingredients in just the right proximity and position to come together, bypassing the need for the steps and quantities required under standard synthesis protocols.

Led by U. of I. chemistry professor M. Christina White, the researchers published their findings in the journal Science.

"Ethers are very important molecules - they're in everything - and our approach really streamlines the process for making them, as well as lets us make ethers we couldn't before," said White. "We always are inspired by nature. Enzymes showed us the way we could do these reactions better, simpler and more efficiently.""

"Officials today (Oct. 4) cut the ribbon on Southern Illinois University Carbondale's $7.2 million BioLaunch lab, a new, 10,000-square-foot space dedicated to cutting-edge life sciences research and more.

"Today is an exciting day for Southern Illinois University Carbondale and our region," said Chancellor Austin A. Lane. "BioLaunch will advance interdisciplinary science and economic development. It is a perfect example of the research and innovation pillar in our university's Imagine 2030 strategic plan."

Funded in part by a $2.7 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Wet Lab Program, BioLaunch is the newest addition to the Illinois Food, Entrepreneurship, Research, and Manufacturing (iFERM) Hub, a state-of-the-art research and training suite for faculty use, students, start-up companies and private firms in the region. iFERM capitalizes on the university's research and innovation into food, fermentation and biotechnology.

Costas Tsatsoulis, vice chancellor for research at SIU, said BioLaunch will provide top-line resources for faculty and companies.

"BioLaunch and other components of the iFERM Hub will help us solve challenges in food, agriculture, energy and health through research, innovation and education," he said. "And it will provide infrastructure for the development of Illinois agriculture value-added products to promote and support successful entrepreneurial activities.""

Upcoming Events

Sat. Nov. 2 | Starved Rock State Park, Utica | Register for this Workshop

ENTICE Prying into Prions | IDNR

"Prying into Prions: Investigating Chronic Wasting Disease is a supplemental, educational unit for high school students that assists in studying prion diseases, including chronic wasting disease. Explore and learn about transmissible spongiform encephalopathies by examining the role of proteins in organisms, the chemistry and properties of proteins, the genetic processes that create proteins, and how proteins can become pathogenic. Study how chronic wasting disease affects Illinois' white-tailed deer herd and what control measures are being taken."

"In this session, we'll dive into the practical side of AI for school administrators, showcasing a variety of AI tools designed to streamline and enhance your daily operations. From data analysis to communication, let AI be your Swiss Army knife, offering versatile solutions to common administrative challenges.

This workshop is tailored for school leaders who want to leverage AI to improve efficiency and effectiveness, freeing them up for the human element of leadership. Participants will gain insights into specific AI applications that can be immediately integrated into their workflows, empowering them to lead with confidence in an increasingly digital world. No special software is needed beforehand, making it easy to start exploring these tools right away. Whether you're tech-savvy or just starting out, this session will equip you with the AI tools any administrator could put in their toolbox."

Thu. Nov. 7 | 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm | Online

CS & STEM Networking Meeting | Learning Technology Center

"Calling all K-12 computer science and STEM educators! Join your peers from across the state each month for an informative, engagement-rich networking meeting centered on topics that matter most to you.

Hosted by CS & STEM Program Director Sarah Phelps, each month's networking meeting is a place where participants can:

- Learn about new resources
- Ask questions
- Share experiences
- Expand their CS and STEM professional network

Teachers, administrators, and curriculum stakeholders are invited to attend, as well CS & STEM educators of all experience levels and at all grade levels. Whether you're just starting out or interested in taking your district's CS & STEM program to the next level, this networking group will help you achieve your goals!"

Thu. Nov. 7 - Sat. Nov. 9 | Tinley Park Convention Center

AISLE 2024 Annual Conference

"Join us for our 2024 AISLE Conference, Thursday - Saturday, November 7-9, 2024, at the Tinley Park Convention Center in Tinley Park, IL.

This year the theme is AISLE L.E.A.D.: Librarians - Educating, Advocating, making a Difference."

Sat. Nov. 9 | Red Oak Nature Center, North Aurora | Register for this Workshop

ENTICE Wild Illinois History | IDNR

"Wild Illinois History is a self-contained teaching unit for educators of grades four through eight. The online interactive student activity and lessons are designed to supplement Illinois history instruction by focusing on information regarding early exploration and settlement, riparian and geography in what was to become Illinois and the uses of wildlife by Indigenous peoples and the trappers who came from Europe. The activity also highlights the conservation movement and how it affects views and uses of wildlife today. Educators of other grade levels are welcome to register and attend the workshop but may need to adapt the materials as appropriate. Supplemental resources will be provided. Professional Development Hours are available. This workshop is part of the ENTICE (Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education) program from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources."

"Celebrate National STEM/STEAM Day with us at an exciting open house event filled with interactive science activities for the whole family!

Kids of all ages can engage with hands-on exhibits from various science outreach groups in the community, including Illinois Science Explorers! Community Engagement Specialist Paige Duncan will be there, demonstrating a fun science matching game, an interactive survey, handing out stickers, and more.

The purpose of the day is to inspire students to explore careers in STEM or STEAM fields while acknowledging the impact of scientists, engineers, and researchers. STEM represents Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, while STEAM includes the Arts. Together, these disciplines equip students for the future. The Arts introduce an additional layer of reasoning, addressing the "who and why" alongside STEM's focus on the "what and how." Students discover they can be both analytical and creative, learning how to ask thoughtful questions and approach situations with curiosity. National STEAM Day highlights the crucial role of STEAM in tackling societal challenges.

We can't wait to explore science with you!

This event is free, for all ages, and no registration is required.


Download the event flyer."

"At IETC, education and technology innovators from throughout Illinois gather in our state's capital to learn, collaborate, and connect.

Sessions focus on technology integration strategies, engaging instructional practices, digital tools and resources, and emerging trends - all with a focus on helping every K-12 district and educator harness edtech's full potential.

With over 700 attendees, 120 sessions and workshops, and 70 vendors, IETC offers unique and intimate learning opportunities for everyone in edtech."

"Join us as a Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site Staff Member discusses the ancient City of Cahokia, a site in present-day Illinois which was inhabited by Indigenous people from about 700-1400. This multifaceted presentation will include points of interest including arts (pottery, jewelry, ornaments), architecture, agriculture, urban development and much more. It was an artistic, cultural and power center during the Mississippian period, and its inhabitants created the largest earthworks in North America."

"Mission control for STEM-centered learning is closer to home than you think! Join us for an introduction to the Challenger Learning Center at Heartland Community College. During this overview, we'll highlight some of the Center's programs and explore how their NGSS-aligned virtual missions can bring NASA-inspired STEM learning to your students.

Along the way, we'll also take part in one of their live virtual missions and outline how these immersive virtual experiences can be easily integrated into your curriculum. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take you classroom's STEM learning to the stars!"

Mon. Feb. 17 - Wed. Feb 19, 2025 | Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel

IDEAcon 2025

"IDEAcon isn't just a conference; IDEAcon is an experience.

For three days, educators become immersed in a community of leaders and learners. Attendees enjoy a welcoming environment as they create their own journey full of breakout sessions, exhibit hall demos, hands-on activities, thought leader talks, networking opportunities and more. Go at your own pace, take the time to discover, and relish the opportunity to learn, share, and play. IDEAcon is where you'll find your next learning adventure. "

Educator's Corner

STEAM resources for in-person, hybrid, remote learning, and professional development

STEAM Resources Spotlight

"Discover Earth & Space Science Lessons for Your K-12 Classroom

What are you teaching this week? Next week? Next month?

When do you teach Earth & Space Science? What topics do you cover to meet your curriculum needs? The water cycle? The solar system? Weather and climate? Landforms and ocean sciences?

We know educators spend a lot of time searching for quality lessons to fit their curriculum needs each year. You want quality materials that align with your class objectives, materials that are easy to use, thoughtfully designed and prepared, and help bring concepts to life with hands-on experiments and activities that really work.

Science Buddies offers quality resources for K-12 STEM education for free!

To make it easy to find free STEM lessons and activities that fit your classroom needs, we've created a series of posts that highlight lessons, activities, and experiments that are hand-picked for educators who will be teaching specific subjects."

"Poetry Out Loud encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.

Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that starts at the classroom level. Students advance to a school-wide competition, through a regional contest, to State Finals, and ultimately to the National Finals.

Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 3 million students and 50,000 teachers from 10,000 schools in every state, Washington, DC, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Poetry Out Loud provides resources and materials to assist teachers in implementing the program in their schools. Awards are available at the state and national level.

While teachers, students, and poetry lovers everywhere can use the Poetry Out Loud website and its accompanying educational materials to organize their own recitation contests, the official contest is limited to the programs run by each state's Arts Agency. Teachers can review the How to Participate page to learn more about the program."

The 'A' in STEAM

"Arts foster scientific success" -Dr. Temple Grandin

This series is dedicated to showing how art and creativity play a crucial role in our society within the STEM fields.

"Hannah Munguia Flores is a third-year student at MIT working on a double master's degree in aerospace engineering and technology and policy. On most days she studies the carbon cycle, and searches for sustainable crops that could be transformed into biofuels for jet engines. But on this late summer day, Munguia Flores was decorating paper fighter planes with a collage of grains and algae she designed on her computer.

"My academic advisor asked me to make a drawing of the carbon cycle," says Munguia Flores, who took "Making Art for Scientists: Materials, Processes and Information Relay" over the summer with instructor and artist Timothy Lee. Offered through the MIT Arts Studios (formerly the Student Art Association), the course invites scientists and engineers to explore new ways to visualize and represent their research. "And I realized there was a part of it I was missing. In this class, excuse the pun, I was able to paint in the empty spaces. I learned there were more ways to do research than just sitting at my desk."

Transforming abstract ideas

Over eight summer sessions, Munguia Flores and her fellow students learned to make art across a variety of media. Some, like Munguia Flores, merged digital art with paper cutouts. Others worked in animation or oil painting. And in learning to make art, all of them acquired a new language that helped them articulate their research and gave them a new perspective on their chosen fields of studies. "This is not a class about data visualization design or medical illustration," says instructor artist Timothy Lee. "It's about taking that information, that data, and interpreting it in a new context, to transform that data into an artwork that conveys something the raw data may not convey."

An interdisciplinary artist whose works explore themes of racial politics, migration, and sexuality, Lee is an ideal guide for students who want to merge their passions for research and art. He studied neuroscience, biology, and studio art as an undergraduate at Wesleyan University and earned an MFA in computational arts from Goldsmiths University of London. "This course came naturally to me," says Lee, who will present a major project at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston next summer. "It blends both my interests, science and art - two disciplines that are often presented as complete opposites, that allegedly use different hemispheres of the brain. But these two disciplines can cross-pollinate, and can feed each other.""

Please submit STEAM ideas, comments, or questions using our contact us form.