Home Save the Date: Touch the Stars at STEM Fest 2026!

Save the Date: Touch the Stars at STEM Fest 2026!

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A colorized graphic logo featuring the phrase "Reach for the Stars." The words "REACH" and "STARS" are written in prominent, tall purple letters, while "FOR THE" is stacked in smaller purple text on the left. A gold outline of a shooting star trails curved gold lines and dark blue dots underneath the text. The background is scattered with small gold four-point stars, dark tiny stars, and small blue braille dots.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.!

The Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled is partnering with the South Central STEM Hub to host STEM Fest which is a free, interactive afternoon packed with hands-on discovery, accessible science activities, and opportunities to connect with local STEM professionals.

Whether you are a lifelong space enthusiast, a tactile learner, or looking for an unforgettable family outing, STEM Fest offers hands-on exploration for all ages and abilities.

Featured Highlight: Tour the Cosmos Through Touch

While you’re here for STEM Fest, step into deep space with our featured free space exhibition: Experience the Cosmos: The James Webb Space Telescope Tactile Exhibit!

Running at the library from September 14 through December 21, 2026, this interactive traveling exhibit brings the breathtaking imagery of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) down to Earth through:

  • Tactile Graphics & 3D Features: Feel the shapes of vibrant nebulae, cosmic dust clouds, and distant galaxies.
  • Audio Descriptions & Soundscapes: Experience deep-space phenomena through immersive multi-sensory learning.
  • Accessible Science for Everyone: Designed specifically for blind, low-vision, and sighted visitors to discover the universe together.

During STEM Fest, visitors can take guided exhibit tours, interact with special 3D-printed astronomical lending kit materials, and see how advanced infrared technology is reshaping our understanding of the universe.

STEM Fest Details & Planning Your Visit

  • 🗓️ Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
  • ⏰ Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • 📍 Location: Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled (524 Fourth Street, Des Moines, IA 50309)
  • 🚪 Entrance: Please use the Watson Powell Jr. Way entrance.
  • 🅿️ Parking: Free parking is available in the designated lot directly across 4th Street.

Behind the Scenes Look at the Experience the Cosmos: The James Webb Space Telescope Tactile Exhibit!

  • Visitor feeling the tactile table to experience the cosmos by touch and the audio description that goes with it by using the buttons at the front of the table.
  • Visitor checking out the James Webb Telescope tactile table.
  • Gentlemen looking over 3D tactile exhibit table while listening to the audio description from buttons at the front of the table.
  • Host of Makerspace excitedly showing visitors an accessible craft.
  • Visitors taking fun photos at our Experience the Cosmos interactive photobooth. The backdrop is the blue, white and black night's sky. The woman on the left is holding up a black sign that says "Reach for the Stars" and the woman on the right is holding up an astronaut helmet in front of her face.
  • Child holding up an astronaut helmet prop in front of his face while standing in front of a night's sky space themed backdrop at our interactive photobooth.

Questions? Reach out to us at library@blind.state.ia.us or give us a call at 515-281-1323. We can’t wait to explore the cosmos with you!

This Exhibition was developed by Tactile Images (www.tactileimages.com) in association with the National Federation of the Blind and Getty Images.
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