STEM Scale-Up program engages children, local organizations and schools in science, technology, engineering, math at an early age

This story first appeared in STEM in Iowa 2025, an annual special section distributed in The Gazette that provides an in-depth look at how this educational pathway is having an impact in the classroom as well as in future workforce pipelines.

In Iowa, STEM education can mean getting a start as early as preschoolers playing with building blocks.

“They’re big blocks, but there’s so much engineering and problem-solving that go into it if they’re building a fort or a house,” said Rebekah Domayer.

Building off kids’ innate curiosity and sense of play is natural for staff at the Iowa Children’s Museum. Domayer, the museum’s STEM education manager, has found tapping into childhood nature as a great first step in their learning.

“We really love play here,” she said. “That’s our big mission for every child, to imagine, create, discover and explore that really plays into our STEM programming. They (kids) provide the lead, and we can provide the materials.”

A similar approach, albeit more structured and directed, happens at local schools across Iowa under the state Department of Education’s STEM Scale-Up program. Started in 2012, Scale-Up involves educators in public and private school classrooms and beyond, including the Children’s Museum and public libraries, early-childhood centers, county extension services and YMCAs.

“There’s something for everybody,” said Matt Stier, manager for the Southeast Iowa Regional STEM Advisory Board. Based at the University of Iowa, he and the board assess applications from schools and qualified organizations, awarding 10 to 14 grants a year in a service area that runs from Clinton to Keokuk on the Mississippi River and as far west as Belle Plaine.

“We’re looking for high-quality programs that are targeted to educators’ needs,” Stier said.

One lesson plan developed at the University of Northern Iowa, All About Balance, helps introduce children as young as pre-kindergarten to some physics principles.

“It’s curriculum that’s ready to go, the training is there,” said Jennifer McNeill. “I’m learning right along with the kids.”

The North Linn Community School District, where McNeill is the STEM and computer science technology integrationist for kindergarten through sixth grade, just finished its fourth year of STEM programs. She delivers lessons developed by Scale-Up to every elementary student.

“Every elementary student gets to come to STEM at least once a week, some twice a week,” McNeill said. “It’s pretty unique for a school district our size to have a separate STEM program.”

North Linn also works with NewBoCo’s Tiny Techies program, which helps pre-kindergarten through second-grade teachers relate basic computer science concepts to their youngest learners. Such immersive STEM education is showing results, even just four years in, McNeill said.

“You’re going to see them come in (next year) with more knowledge,” she said. “Stuff that used to take me a little longer, as they’re getting older there’s less class time I have to spend on that.”

A casual visitor to the Children’s Museum, or students on a field trip, may not notice specifically STEM-related exhibits, but Domayer works with the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids districts and corporate sponsors on themed events.

“We’ve stepped away from facilitated-focus field trips,” she said. “When people want to come to visit the museum, they want to explore the museum on their own terms. But we have STEM exhibits that encourage problem solving and inquiry.”

To keep students engaged over the break, the museum hosts STEM-focused summer camps through such partners as Coralville and Cedar Rapids parks departments and the Indian Creek Nature Center. Its Museum to Go program delivers lessons to city parks, libraries and other venues.

“What we do are outreach and enrichment,” Domayer said. “In the summer, we’ll be doing this throughout the Corridor. The STEM-Scale Up program has been a crucial addition to our programming.”

Collins Aerospace sponsors STEM Family Free Night at the Children’s Museum on the last Friday of the month.

“We offer free admission, and we offer a STEM challenge,” she said. “We’ll see 600 to 1,000 people. Not only do they get the experience of coming to the museum, they’re facilitating STEM challenges.”

At North Linn, themed classes like Leader Day bring local employers’ input on how STEM lessons apply to their business. McNeill also wants to get parents involved.

“We’re trying to do more to let parents know about their students’ STEM education,” McNeill said. “Some of them might not even know we do STEM here. In the parent-teacher conferences, we’ll have a few demonstration exercises, and the kids show their parents some of the stuff we do.”

Scale-Up training sessions build a network of educators who exchange ideas on what’s working.

“Some of that happens organically,” Stier said. “Some (educators) know each other because they’re in adjacent areas, but we’re pulling on from across the state. They’re getting a chance to learn about the materials, to interact with each other. It creates a social network. I know some have kept those collaborations going.”

“That’s probably where we get more feedback,” Stier added. “The other goal is to build partnerships with some of our community stakeholders. That’s why we have a robust view of who’s an educator. Our goal is to (form) a strong partnership that connects a lot of people. It’s trying to connect people to build collaborative partnerships and spark things to happen.”