{"id":18071,"date":"2026-04-14T17:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/?p=18071"},"modified":"2026-04-14T17:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:26:16","slug":"virginia-westerns-stem-day-puts-learning-in-k-8-students-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/14\/virginia-westerns-stem-day-puts-learning-in-k-8-students-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Western’s STEM Day puts learning in K-8 students’ hands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
The Carilion Clinic Center for Simulation, Research and Patient Safety exhibit teaches adolescents the importance of CPR and other patient care methods.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

STEM Day ignited interest for K-8 students on Saturday, April 11, at Virginia Western Community College. Around 1,250 children and families visited campus for the event, which featured free food, booths and interactive exhibits.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Stacie
Stacie Deaver and Cerys Deaver, 4, examine a heart in the anatomy and physiology room during STEM Day. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Virginia Western faculty members and community partners teamed up to make science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects accessible and fun. Students were able to experience pendulum painting, electric cars and motorcycles, glow in the dark bacteria, medical simulations with real clinical tools, robots and slime, and a variety of other exhibits showcasing the many practical and engaging applications of STEM in our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generous funding provided by Project VITAL (GoVA) and the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance made STEM Day possible. More than 100 volunteers supported the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community partners provided exhibits and food at no cost to attendees. Those partners include: Clean Valley Council; VT Roanoke Center; Bricks 4 Kidz; Virginia Museum of Transportation; Novonesis; Kids Square; Carilion Clinic Innovations; Carilion Clinic Center for Simulation, Research and Patient Safety; Virginia Tech Health Sciences and Technology Campus; Virginia Department of Forensic Science; Science Museum of Western Virginia; Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council; Virginia Agriculture Mobile Education Unit; Virginia Tech Baja Team; Virginia Tech Formula SAE; BOLT at Virginia Tech; and Virginia Tech Astrobotics. Marco’s Pizza and Bojangles provided food for the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Virginia Western STEM and Workforce Team proudly supports the regional STEM ecosystem,” said Amy White, Dean of STEM and Workforce Solutions. “We are excited by outreach events like STEM Day, through which we can educate the community about opportunities and technologies available right here in the Roanoke Valley. Events like this showcase not only the educational resources available, but also the collaborative spirit that resonates throughout this region.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Kids
Kids Square provides Roanoke youth a space to build and experiment with structural engineering methods.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Young
Young learners paint their own planets and learn about the phases of the moon at the Astronomy exhibit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"STEM
STEM Professor Mark Dudley leads students through demonstrations of chemistry in action, showing how bases and acids react to one another.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Fluffy
Fluffy slime is a big hit with kids who like the messier side of chemistry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Aurora
Aurora Garrett, 6, is using muscle activity to control a robot at STEM Day at Virginia Western Community College. The Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance exhibit let students experience the kind of technology developed at RBIA’s Innovation Studio. RBIA supports the Roanoke region’s life sciences startups with a focus on medical devices and digital health.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Roanoke
Roanoke youths get hands on with the Clean Valley Council, learning about the ways water pollution affects the Roanoke River and what they can do to help keep the region clean.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Marco's
Marco’s Pizza and Bojangles provided food for the event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEM Day ignited interest for K-8 students on Saturday, April 11, at Virginia Western Community College. Around 1,250 children and families visited campus for the event, which featured free food, booths and interactive exhibits.
\nVirginia Western faculty members and community partners teamed up to make science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects accessible and fun. Students were able to experience pendulum painting, electric cars and motorcycles, glow in the dark bacteria, medical simulations with real clinical tools, robots and slime, and a variety of other exhibits showcasing the many practical and engaging applications of STEM in our community Continue Reading Virginia Western’s STEM Day puts learning in K-8 students’ hands<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Erica Myatt","author_link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/author\/emyatt\/"},"yoast_head":"\nVirginia Western's STEM Day puts learning in K-8 students' hands - News from Virginia Western<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Article about Virginia Western's STEM Day puts learning in K-8 students' hands\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/14\/virginia-westerns-stem-day-puts-learning-in-k-8-students-hands\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia Western's STEM Day puts learning in K-8 students' hands - 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