Build an Exhibit, Build a Science Center
STEM For All is going full steam ahead in building its first futuristic science center.
What Kind of Science Center Are We Building?
Imagine a Science Center
where YOU can
See an Exhibit,
Touch it,
Play with it,
Experiment with it,
Break it (accidentally),
Repair it,
Rebuild it,
Improvise it,
Make a Replica and Take it Home.
Here, you will not only be inspired, but YOU will also inspire others.
YOU can be a school student who will be building the entire science center.
Yes, this futuristic science center will be built by local school students like you.
We are inviting all Greater Lansing Area school students to join STEM For All in building this science center. STEM For All will coach the students through this entire process. We hope each student and their family can build at least one STEM exhibit. All family members can help build it, including parents and grandparents, although we expect most of the work to be done by children Grade 12 or under.
This will be a one-of-a-kind science center. Some of the exhibits such as the Open Air Orrery will be the first in the world. Some will need huge open space, while most will fit in a shoebox. One hundred small exhibits from one hundred families will constitute a low-cost science center. An entire science center can fit inside a public library, school, or even within traditional science museums like Impression 5 Science Center. The first version of these exhibits will be placed in public places such as parks, school sidewalks, and maybe even your own front yard. Each exhibit will be accompanied by a video of the student explaining it. For examples of what you can build, look at the current and past missions of STEM For All. You can come up with your own ideas. If you are impressed with an exhibit you saw in a science museum, let us work together to make our own version of that. We will credit the family that built the exhibit. Be the first 100 families that built the first STEM For All Science Center.
$2,000 scholarship/donation: Symbiosis International has set aside $2,000 to incentivize this effort. STEM For All will form an independent panel of judges consisting of STEM educators and community leaders of the Greater Lansing Area. This panel will decide on how to use this fund to best benefit the community.
Accessible and Affordable to All: While building this low-cost futuristic science center is a mission, our vision is to spread STEM education and make it accessible and affordable to people of all socio-economic backgrounds. As such, if you or someone you know cannot afford the $100 fee, Symbiosis International will provide a scholarship. Please submit the form with first line of Your Message as “STEM Scholarship”. You can apply on behalf of yourself or someone you know.
Please Sign Up with a fee of $100 per family. STEM For All will coach your children to build the exhibit, help them understand the scientific principles involved, coach them to explain those principles to others, and create a beautiful explanation video. With this video, your student will be a virtual presenter of that exhibit wherever it is displayed. The fee is per family as we want the entire family to be involved in this project.
Please support STEM For All’s mission to spread STEM education for all. If you can afford, please consider Buy One Donate One. You can donate to a deserving student of your choice with total anonymity.
This will start as an 8-week program focusing mainly to build exhibits utilizing the upcoming spring break. These exhibits will be part of MSU Science Festival 2021, if completed in time. Most of the exhibits can be built in a few weeks, depending upon the skill levels of the students and the complexity of the exhibit. Polishing it and creating the explanation video will take a few more weeks. We ask that you give us the second, more polished version of the exhibit for our science center. This is not only a STEM activity, but a fun family activity too.
Coaching Schedule: I (Uma Umakanth) will be available during the following days/times for coaching the young scientists via Zoom/video calls/phone/email. Coaching via email provides added flexibility.
(In-person coaching has been suspended until further notice.)
Mondays and Wednesdays:
Slot 1 from 5 PM to 5:50 PM
Slot 2 from 6 PM to 6:50 PM
As more students join, we will add more coaches and more days per week.
The first 100 families to sign up before April 30, 2021 will be eligible to participate in every STEM For All activity till MSU Science Festival of next year. STEM For All conducts at least ten STEM events per year including Ask a Future Scientist, LCC STEMFest, Chemistry Day and special events at Impression 5, and STEM/STEAM events at MSU Abrams Planetarium, MSU Grandparent University, local libraries and schools.
Please Sign Up today.
Cancellation Policy: Please contact us to get any clarification before signing up. We will refund if you cancel within the first week, but we would rather spend our efforts on spreading STEM education than in administrative tasks.
Thank you for your contribution in
Building Science Centers
One Exhibit at a Time
