STEM Day

STEM Day: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathmatics

Saturday, October 1st 2022, 10 AM - 4 PM

At the UAA ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building (CPISB)

Come join us for a day of STEMulating activities!

STEM Day is an interactive event hosted at UAA to promote the exciting careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.  All are welcome to this free event!

If you need that extra boost of energy to get you through the day, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and snacks will be available for purchase from UAA Seawolf Dining in the CPISB. 

We will host a variety of activities, including:
  • Interactive Activities & Presentations
  • Science Demonstration Shows
  • Free Planetarium Shows
  • Tours

There will be 20+ booths that students can visit, and each booth will have activities or materials that will engage students in STEM learning across dozens of disciplines. The activities include:

  • Science experiments with the student chapter of the American Chemical Society
  • Sheep brain dissections with the neurophysiology faculty
  • Rats responding to positive reinforcements to solve puzzles with the Psychology Department
  • Robot coding with the UAA Robotics Team
  • A photo booth and tech demo with the Community and Technical College
  • Alaska Native Minecraft with the Computer Science Department
  • Sand table and digital mapping with the Geomatics Department
  • And much more! 

If a student completes an activity passport by visiting at least eight booths, then they can enter into a drawing for a chance to win a membership to the UAA Planetarium

There will also be special sessions throughout the day, as shown in the schedule below.
 
  • 10:30 am - 11:20 am - Physics Demonstration
  • 11:30 am - 12:20 pm - Lab Tour in Engineering & Industry Building (EIB) and Health Sciences Building (HSB)
  • 12:30 pm - 1:20 pm - Lab Tour in EIB and HSB (same content as first tour)
  • 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm - Psychology Demonstration
  • 2:15pm - 2:45pm - Chemistry Demonstration
  • 3pm - 3:30pm - Chemistry Demonstration
The lab tours in EIB and HSB will have four stops, lasting about 50 minutes. 
 
  • Structures Testing Lab Demonstration with Dr. Polly Murray and Dr. Scott Hamel
  • Materials Testing Lab Demonstration with Dr. Raghu Srinivasan
  • Shake Table & Steel Bridge with the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Health Sciences Simulation Center with Dr. Marissa Beninati

There will be a shuttle taking participants from the ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building (CPISB) to the Engineering & Industry Building. Please be ready to go, lined up outside of the front door, at the scheduled start of the tour time. The shuttle will return participants to the CPISB from the Health Sciences Building after the tour is over. 

The UAA Planetarium will rotate through four different films throughout the day: A Place Like No Other, Black Holes, Seeing, and Earthquake.

A Place Like No Other

  • Alaska is a place like no other. For many people a trip to Alaska is a life-long dream. For the people who live here, they depend on and protect an enduring way of life. But there are places in our state so remote, so wild, that few Alaskans have ever gone. Here in the planetarium we're going to take you to these places, to remote wilderness to see iconic animals and landscapes that define the Last Frontier, places that make Alaska...Alaska.

Black Holes

  • This fulldome show from Thomas Lucas Productions was developed in collaboration with Denver Museum of Nature & Science, NOVA and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Narrated by Academy-Award nominated actor Liam Neeson, this cutting-edge production features high-resolution visualizations to bring the current science of black holes onto the dome.Audiences will be dazzled with striking, immersive animations of the formation of the early universe, star birth and death, the collision of giant galaxies, and a simulated flight into the super-massive black hole lurking at the center of our galaxy.

Seeing!: A Photon’s Journey Across Space and Mind

  • SEEING: A Photon’s Journey Across Space and Mind is a 22-minute full-immersion planetarium program, which uses hemispheric animations and video to teach how human vision works. Imagery from all over the world including humanity, landscapes, skyscapes, wildlife and of space are the backdrop for photo-realistic animations to create the story of a photon’s journey from the belly of a star, across the galaxy, to a young stargazer’s eye. The photon’s journey is completed when it’s energy is converted into an electro-chemical impulse that then travels the neuro pathways of the brain and the various centers that create the image the mind sees.

Earthquake

  • A sweeping geological journey, Earthquake explores the forces that transform the surface of our planet.  After a stunning flight over the San Andreas Fault, audiences travel back in time to experience San Francisco's infamous 1906 earthquake.  Data-driven visualizations illustrate Earth's story, revealing how subtle motions and sudden ruptures have shaped our planet over eons - and how geological activity influences the course of human history.  Finally, see how scientists and engineers help society prepare for a safer future.

 

  • 10:00 am - A Place Like No Other
  • 10:30 am - Black Holes
  • 11:00 am - Seeing
  • 11:30 am - Earthquake
  • 12:00 am - A Place Like No Other
  • 12:30 pm - Black Holes
  • 1:00 pm - Seeing
  • 1:30 pm - Earthquake
  • 2:00 pm - A Place Like No Other
  • 2:30 pm - Black Holes
  • 3:00 pm - Seeing
  • 3:30 pm - Earthquake

 

Have questions? Email uaa_stem@alaska.edu

STEM Day is based in the UAA ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building (CPISB).  Parking is free! Please see Parking Information for details. 

We would like to give a special thanks to the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the College of Health for their support of UAA STEM Day.