STEM Fest – Turning the Pages

Library Chat Podcast: February 2023 Featuring the Iowa Regional Braille Challenge and IDB STEM Fest

February 28, 2023

4:07 pm

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Braille, Braille Challenge, Library Chat, podcast, STEM Fest

February’s Library Chat Podcast is all about Braille, the Braille Challenge and our accessible STEM Fest. Library staff discuss the Iowa Regional Braille Challenge and the IDB STEM Fest that was hosted by the Library at the Iowa Department for the Blind on Saturday, February 25, 2023. Jodi, Angie and Leland had a chance to talk with the students participating in the Braille Challenge, their parents and IDB staff about braille. The podcast also features a song created and performed by Frank Strong especially for the Braille Challenge and a rap that staff member, Jodi Aldini wrote and performed highlighting the Braille Challenge participants.

Iowa Braille Challenge T-Shirts are still available until Friday, March 3rd!

Link to Online Store

To help us celebrate the 2023 Iowa Regional Braille Challenge and Braille literacy, we are pleased to work with local, small business The Side Garage this year for the Braille Challenge t-shirt. The theme for 2023 is Braille! Let the Sunshine In.

All shirts are crew neck and short sleeved. Shirts are heather yellow with black lettering. The front of the t-shirt says in print: BRAILLE let the sunshine in., with a graphic of a sun with a smiling face surrounded by sunbeams, hidden in some of the sunbeams is the word braille in braille. The back of the t-shirt says, BRAILLE let the sunshine in, in braille. All sizing is unisex and all shirts are $20.00. Participants of the Braille Challenge will be provided with a t-shirt that have been generously donated by the Friends of the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Congratulations to Iowa’s Regional Braille Challenge Participants!

by sarahwillefordidb

February 27, 2023

9:45 am

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library, Library Events, Youth Programming

Braille Challenge, STEM Fest

The Braille Challenge is the only academic competition of its kind in North America for students who are blind or low vision. Braille Institute developed the Braille Challenge to motivate students to practice and hone their braille literacy skills, which are essential to academic and employment success.

Braille Challenge participants tested both remotely during the month of February and at the in-person Iowa Regional Braille Challenge held on Saturday, February 25th at the Iowa Department for the Blind.

Thank you to our students, proctors and parents for making the 2023 Iowa Regional Braille Challenge such a great success!

Check out our 2023 Braille Challenge Page for more information and this year’s results!

We would also like to send out a huge thank you the South Central (SC) STEM Hub and to all of the organizations that helped make the IDB STEM Festival a success. Exhibitors from around the metro area shared their expertise in STEM, and all the activities were based on the best practices of Universal Design concepts and materials were provided in accessible formats (large print and braille). The goal of the event was to communicate that STEM is all-inclusive and that the best ideas come when diverse minds team up to solve problems. It was an amazing way to end the day!

The T-Shirts are still available until Friday, March 3!

Link to Online Store

To help us celebrate the 2023 Iowa Regional Braille Challenge and Braille literacy, we are pleased to work with local, small business The Side Garage this year for the Braille Challenge t-shirt. The theme for 2023 is Braille! Let the Sunshine In.

Coming Soon! STEM Fest at the Iowa Department for the Blind

by sarahwillefordidb

February 17, 2023

8:30 am

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STEM, STEM Fest

Our STEM festival is back! STEM stands for Science-Technology-Engineering-Math and the library is excited to partner with the South Central (SC) STEM Hub to host an event themed: Let the Sunshine In!

When: Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Where: Iowa Department for the Blind (524 4th St., Des Moines)

Who: The festival is open to the public and will serve all children in grades K-12 and their families.

Exhibitors from around the metro area will share expertise in STEM, and all activities will be based on the best practices of Universal Design concepts and materials will be provided in accessible formats (large print and braille). Participants can take part in cooking and wood shop demonstrations highlighting non-visual techniques.

Jill Wells Art in partnership with Mosaic in Central Iowa will be one of the exhibitors at the STEM Fest. Bringing BRAILLE ART with a Braille Butterfly Sound Garden! Their booth includes a Build-Your-Own STEM art project that combines textures, braille, science, technology, and ART! Stop by their booth at the festival to have fun, create and take a “grab and go” art bag home!

The goal of the event is to communicate that STEM is all-inclusive and that the best ideas come when diverse minds team up to solve problems. Register to attend at https://scstemhub.drake.edu/festivals/. Attendees who pre-register will receive a free tote bag while supplies last. Walk-ins are welcome, also.

More About Our Upcoming STEM Fest at the Iowa Department for the Blind

by sarahwillefordidb

February 10, 2023

4:45 pm

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library, Youth Programming

STEM, STEM Fest

Our STEM festival is back! STEM stands for Science-Technology-Engineering-Math and the library is excited to partner with the South Central (SC) STEM Hub to host an event themed: Let the Sunshine In!

When: Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Where: Iowa Department for the Blind (524 4th St., Des Moines)
Who: The festival is open to the public and will serve all children in grades K-12 and their families.

Polk County Conservation will be one of the exhibitors at the STEM Fest.

Polk County Conservation manages over 16,000 acres of prairies, wetlands, woodlands, trails and parks in Polk County. We also offer the public year-round education and recreation programs, volunteer opportunities and trips. Our headquarters are based out of the Jester Park Nature Center which has an annual visitation of 32,000 people. In the coming year we are planning on creating a nature sensory trail next to the nature center with interactive stations designed to engage multiple senses and increase accessibility. PCC would like to provide unique opportunities for nature to be inclusive for everyone, regardless of their ability. We are thankful to our partners on this project, including the Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. We were excited to participate in the upcoming STEM Festival so that we can increase PCC’s visibility and connection with different audiences. Our hands on activity involves challenging students to build a habitat out of Legos. We’ll discuss the components found in habitats that animals need to survive.

Heidi Anderson, Naturalist
Polk County Conservation

The goal of the event is to communicate that STEM is all-inclusive and that the best ideas come when diverse minds team up to solve problems.

Attendees who pre-register will receive a free tote bag while supplies last. Walk-ins are welcome, also.

Upcoming STEM Fest at the Iowa Department for the Blind

by sarahwillefordidb

February 3, 2023

2:14 pm

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STEM Fest, Youth

The Great Des Moines Botanical Garden will be one of the exhibitors at the STEM Fest.

The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden is committed to exploring, explaining, and celebrating the world of plants with everyone. We look for ways to build partnerships with those from all walks of life in not only the Des Moines metro, but across the state and even the country. Part of how we do that is by ensuring we’re being fully inclusive to all. To achieve this, we participate in many activities and events throughout the year. Over the past few years, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with the Iowa Department of the Blind and Print Disabled and have hosted them onsite at the Botanical Garden for educational programs. So, we were very excited to receive an invitation to participate at the Universal STEM Fest coming up! One of the many things we love about plants is how overwhelmingly sensory they are. Their touch, scent, taste, and even their sound can stand alone as an unforgettable experience, and our traveling Plant Petting Zoo offers people the opportunity to interact with plants using different senses. The more people can experience the botanical world around us and share it with others, the more enriched our lives and communities become. We’re so excited to share that enrichment with everyone on February 25!

Matthew Card, Education Coordinator
Greater Des Monies Botanical Garden

The goal of the event is to communicate that STEM is all-inclusive and that the best ideas come when diverse minds team up to solve problems.

Attendees who pre-register will receive a free tote bag while supplies last. Walk-ins are welcome, also.

Save the Date: Iowa Regional Braille Challenge and STEM Fest

by sarahwillefordidb

January 27, 2023

3:39 pm

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Braille Challenge, STEM, STEM Fest

The Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled will host its 17th Regional Braille Challenge on February 25, 2023, from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM. Braille readers (grades 1-12) from Iowa will gather at the Iowa Department for the Blind, 524 Fourth Street in Des Moines, to test their braille skills in five categories: reading comprehension, braille spelling, charts and graphs reading, proofreading, and braille speed and accuracy. Immediately following the competition, winners from each age group are announced.

Winners of this Iowa Regional Braille Challenge will go on to compete at the national finals held at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. From there, 50 students (10 in each of the five categories) with the highest scores from around North America and the UK embark on another competition to test their braille skills alongside peers from around the world.

This year, an in-person STEM festival is back. STEM stands for Science-Technology-Engineering-Math. From 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM that same day, the Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB) will partner with the South Central (SC) STEM Hub to host an event themed: Let the Sunshine In! The festival is open to the public and will serve all children in grades K-12 and their families.

Register to attend or exhibit at https://scstemhub.drake.edu/festivals/. Attendees who pre-register will receive a free tote bag while supplies last. Walk-ins are welcome.