Peter Eliopoulos, 4, worked with spaghetti and small marshmallows on a Russell Construction table in the Bettendorf Middle School gymnasium.
Peter created some architectural designs using simple materials, occasionally watching what other children were making, but mostly concentrating on his own designs.
Peter Eliopoulos, 4, builds with spaghetti and mini marshmallows at the Russell Construction display table at STEAM Expo on Saturday at Bettendorf Middle School.
Thomas Geyer
“He likes doing things like this, but he's never worked with these materials before,” Peter's father, Sam Eliopoulos, said of his son. “This is the longest he's stayed in one place today. He's really enjoying it.”
Peter and his father were among 600 people who attended the STEAM Expo held Saturday at Bettendorf Middle School from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There were 32 stations throughout the school where adults and children could learn subjects in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.
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Children participate in spinning art at the STEAM Expo on Saturday at Bettendorf Middle School.
Thomas Geyer
Lee Merback, project manager at Russell Construction, says that exercises with simple materials are “just experimentation and trial and error, not the right answer, but how you keep trying, learning, and improving.” It’s just an engineering concept.” The idea is that if they want to build the tallest tower, how does that happen? ”
While watching the children build, Marbach said, “In this example of spaghetti and marshmallows, children consistently outperform adults because they are not afraid of new things and trial and error.'' There are studies that show that there is.”
HNI Corporation, a Muscatine office furniture manufacturer, had three robots installed for humans to drive. One robot was set up with cones for maneuvering, and his other was set up with a curved road. The third robot was used to push the box around.
Children and adults lined up to operate the robots.
Ryker Kulig, 13, demonstrates a robot during HNI Corporation's robot exhibit at STEAM Expo on Saturday at Bettendorf Middle School.
Thomas Geyer
Candice Jebkes, an industrial engineer from the University of Iowa who has worked at HNI for 27 years, said robots are very popular.
“We have a women's group in STEM, and we also do outreach to schools to prepare the next generation in STEM,” Tjebkes said. “We're partnering with the Fire Island Robotics team at Muscatine High School. They're building robots that we take to school.
“This has been very popular and we do it for kindergarten through sixth grade,” she added. “When kids tour our factory, they can see big robots pushing boxes.”
Bettendorf Police Department Lt. Andrew Champion and Officer Eric Poirier were explaining how science and technology are used in the police department. They were preparing to throw a baseball and using handheld radar to measure the speed of the ball.
Bettendorf Police Lt. Andrew Champion uses radar to time the pitches of 12-year-old Kenzie Coffee during the STEAM Expo at Bettendorf Middle School on Saturday.
Thomas Geyer
“This is the third year we've used radar to measure speed,” Champion said. “We try to express the speed of the ball in terms of the speed of the car, because those are very typical of speeds around the city and it helps kids equate it. ”
“Because radar uses light waves to bounce off baseballs, children are delayed in understanding how the technology can be used in different ways,” he added.
Among all science and technology, there were arts, including writing and the use of imagination.
Sara Ergatian, marketing and program director for the Midwest Writing Center, pointed out:
Dave Marcia, director of the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center, shows off the wingspan of a ring-horned owl at the STEAM Expo held at Bettendorf Middle School on Saturday.
Thomas Geyer
“Television shows are written, video games are written, music is written, books are written,” she said. “There is no escaping the written word. It is only a matter of remembering from which it all came.”
Addie Cartner, 10, operated a virtual John Deere excavator during STEAM Expo at Bettendorf Middle School on Saturday.
Thomas Geyer
There's so much to see and do, and many families say they come back every year.
Among the many activities was Mike McKean of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers teaching children how the Mississippi River's locks and dams work. Dave Marcia, director of the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center, has a long-eared owl and was teaching children about birds of prey. At St. Ambrose College, physiotherapy and chemistry students taught various aspects of science.
Mike McKean of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers explains to 5-year-old Ezra McManus how the Mississippi River's lock and dam system works.
Thomas Geyer
Parker Audiology taught people about the world of earwax, Metronet taught people about fiber optics, John Deere taught people about welding, and Quad City Steamwheelers taught people how to throw a spiral pass. Bettendorf's Girl His Scout had slime fun and Boy His Scout had several exhibits including using flint and steel to light cotton balls on fire.
There were also exhibits on gardening, watersheds, veterinary medicine, screen printing, beekeeping, clean energy, planetarium shows, and more.
Nine-year-old Oscar Magnuson uses a steel flint to ignite a cotton ball at STEAM Expo at Bettendorf Middle School on Saturday.
Thomas Geyer
Griffin Lindler, 7, and Easton Vill, 6, were making bouncy balls in the 3M room.
Joshua Varghese of 3M said he was here to make bouncy balls and lava lamps and teach children about polymers, density and solubility.
To make the bouncy balls, he said, you use water, glue, borax and cornstarch.
Morgan Keppie, 12, and Lili Deerix, 11, watch as balloons are inflated by mixing baking soda and vinegar during the STEAM Expo chemistry exhibit at Bettendorf Middle School on Saturday. The chemistry exhibition was hosted by St. Ambrose University.
Thomas Geyer
Holding a series of small beads in his hand, Varghese explained: “These beads represent short-chain polymers that are a solution of glue and cornstarch, and when you mix them with borax and water, you get longer-chain polymers that give you different properties and This reduces the slimy feeling and creates elasticity.”
The lava lamp was made with water, vegetable oil, and food coloring. An antacid tablet was dropped into the mixture and a show began to amaze the children.
Steven Beard, a Genesis nurse and beekeeper in Davenport with his wife Marlo, a Monmouth University professor, will be explaining all about bees and beekeeping at the STEAM Expo Saturday at Bettendorf Middle School.
Thomas Geyer
Rachel Deerix, Bettendorf Community School District's MTSS facilitator, or multi-layered support system, said she brings businesses and service organizations together to discuss different jobs so guests can “understand where all these categories fit in their lives. He said that it is possible to know the Help students understand that there are many opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom to the real world. ”
