Roving STEM trailer in the works

Over the last two years, kids made bristle robots out of toothbrush heads and a motor, musical rain sticks and even balloon-propelled water bottle cars as part of a series of STEM/STEAM workshops in the Silver Valley.

Developing programming to build student interest in science, technology, engineering, arts and math through Project Uplift Kellogg and the Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation has become a major project for Paige Olsen.

A new resource for Valley students is in the works, however, as funding from United Way and the Innovia Foundation has made it possible for Olsen in her role as executive director for SVEDC to purchase a trailer to house supplies for future programming.

Finding a sustainable method to offer activities to encourage youth to stay engaged and curious about the world has been a process, Olsen said.

“Originally, we hosted workshops and the kids came on site. This last summer, we decided to kind of move around the Valley and do them at different locations, and that seemed to go over really well. It seemed to include more kiddos that don’t necessarily have transportation to Kellogg,” Olsen said.

Teachers contacted Project Uplift Kellogg on Facebook to bring the workshops to Canyon Elementary and Silver Hills Elementary.

The mobile Gizmo-CDA trailer was a helpful and activity-packed resource, but driving the large trailer back and forth from Kootenai County to Shoshone County for weekly workshops in the summer took a toll, so she cut out the use of the trailer. But the idea for a mobile activity storage unit stuck with her.

Workshops were offered in the spring, often partnering with elementary schools and then, in the summer, at different locations. Activities offered range from arts activities to mechanical engineering.

“In the summers, Gizmo partnered with us and they actually paid the facilitators a stipend so I was able to hire a couple of teachers to do a workshop once a week for  six to eight weeks. Now, with Gizmo needing to focus on funding for in-house stuff, that money has gone away, and I was doing the workshops in the schools last year,” Olsen said.

It also became necessary to look into other options when the uptown Kellogg space where STEAM activities were hosted was sold. Olsen said it wasn’t worth it to spend money on a brick-and-mortar location with funds that could be going toward programming.

Obtaining a Silver Valley STEM/STEAM trailer surfaced as a solution to store materials and mobilize the program.

“It’s kind of growing pains and baby steps at this point but we’re getting there. We’re hoping with a step up in our own programming here that we’ll be able to do March, April and May and then go into the fall and be more consistent,” Olsen said.

A search is on to find a smaller cargo trailer available for less than $5,000 or a sponsor able to cover part of the cost.

    Betty Nguyen shows the battery she created to her dad, Lavoryn Nguyen, during a STEM workshop in 2023.
  

    Hadalynn Olsen holds up a copper tape battery that she created during a STEM workshop.