Students from Eugene Middle School in Eugene, OR put their problem solving skills to the test in the first STEMposium. They competed in races to complete projects as quickly as possible. The winner is the team that finishes the project the quickest. Wonderfully, those teams that experience failure are not met with ridicule. The staff of the Arts and Technology Academy designed the STEMposium to encourage learning from mistakes, and instilling belief in continuing to try things until something works.

Many other schools are starting to host their own STEMposiums throughout the country as education in math and the sciences has become a national concern as high school graduates are increasingly underprepared for college classes and the United States has continued to decline in the international rankings. STEMposiums are seen as a simple way to give schoolchildren extra exposure to science and math concepts, especially in the area of applying these skills to solve problems. Even the military feels strongly about doing this. However, these are often annual events, which while fun, do not necessarily provide the continued practice and encouragement that some children require to enjoy STEM learning.

Therefore, as a parent we should probably do more to make sure that our kids learn the STEM skills that we all know will be instrumental for success in the near future. If you feel that your child is not attaining these skills at a sufficient level at their school, there is more that you can do. There are many programs for children which will develop their science and math skills outside of school. Sometimes these are afterschool and weekend programs but there are also great spring and summer camps that feature a focus on STEM learning and developing problem solving skills. CodeRev Kids is a great organization which teaches children how to use the computer to create through coding using robotics, websites and video game building. It is a wonderful example of a company that aims to help children take their skills and interests as far as they can, independently from school. We need more people like them.