Photos: STEM Day at Collins Aerospace shares joy of exploration

Lincoln Hagen (left), 7, announces that he wants “more power” for his card to light up while his brother, Lance Hagen, 9, works on his light-up card during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. For this activity, volunteer Abigail Schaefer (left) assisted them in using a small battery, wires, and copper tape to illuminate small lights on a card. Schaefer said she enjoys seeing kids have the opportunity to explore STEM activities and their excitement when they finish their activity. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

A volunteer talks Kashden Grabau Keele (left), 7, and Knox Grabau Keele, 11, through the next step for building a bike during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Volunteer Tyler Gandy said the bike kits will help kids learn about quality checks, testing their finished product and where specific tools will be used while building the bike. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Jaxson Maring, 9, watches Jordan McNulty, 10, attach the wheel to the bike they were building during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Volunteer Tyler Gandy said the kids assembled bikes from kits by following the provided directions, with help from the volunteers. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Cedar Amateur Astronomers member Wendell Clifton points to a tower to show Bennett Sam Vidavaluru, 4, the difference between a telescope and high-power binoculars during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Clifton said the activity teaches kids about telescopes and how they work, like why giant telescopes are positioned on mountains. “If you look at it closely, you’ll notice the antenna tower looks like it’s shimmying,” Clifton said. "That's not the tower, that's not the telescope, it's the air between us. That's why, when professional astronomers build giant telescopes, they put them up on mountains. To put them above as much air as possible." (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Claire Losey (left), 6, Rafael Guerrero (center), 6, and Angel Guerrero, 7, use remote controls to operate robots from Prairie High School Robotics during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Prairie High School Robotics team member Emily Siech, 15, said kids could use the robot to pick up small pucks or drive it around the small area it was in. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Katelyn Dasta, 12, uses wires to make a spinning LED wheel during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Co-Founder Tiffany Dague said her favorite part about STEM Day is seeing the kids’ faces while they try out activities. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Kiran Marla guides kids through a surgery simulator at the University of Iowa STEM education booth during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. The University of Iowa STEM education booth also featured an activity where children could create a bracelet using UV-sensitive beads that changed color when exposed to sunlight. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Moriah Hagen helps her son Ezra Hagen, 5, and her daughter Leona Hagen build catapults at BAE Systems’ booth during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Co-Founder Tiffany Dague said she and Mandy Dodd started STEM Day three years ago because they saw a need in the community for STEM activities and to show kids that anyone can participate in STEM. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Community members use a robot to launch whiffle balls at targets during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Through the activity, community members could also use a small robot to maneuver a ball from one end of the area to another. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Iayana White, 12, and volunteer Jesse Faust test the battery-powered car she built during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Co-Founder Tiffany Dague (CQ) said STEM Day also shows community members that there are a lot of opportunities in a career in STEM. “It’s one of those things where you don’t expect STEM to be in some of these other businesses and organizations in the community,” Dague said. “So once we show them it’s everywhere, it really opens up their eyes to opportunities where a STEM career can take you.” (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Kalaivani Manivannan, 7, pours water into cups with holes in them to observe how the water flows from cup to cup back into the buckets below during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Co-Founder Tiffany Dague said that when STEM Day started, they had only 31 vendors, and this year, they have 75 vendors, including the St. Luke’s medevac helicopter. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers and other tools for building bikes lay on the ground during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Volunteer Tyler Gandy said the bike kits will help kids learn about quality checks, testing their finished product and where specific tools will be used while building the bike. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Matthias Keller, 3, rolls a ball down a ramp he made with the help of Iowa Children’s Museum employee Jeff Capps during STEM Day at Collins Aerospace in northeast Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Capps said the kids used various tools to build their ramps before testing balls of different sizes and weights on them. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)