STEM van visits Arlee
courtesy photo
The STEM van will be visiting a total of 78 different communities between Montana and Wyoming.
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ARLEE — The Mobile STEM Learning Center made a stop at the Arlee Community Development Center (CDC) on June 23, opening up the learning program to all the kids who stopped by.
The Mobile STEM Learning Center van – STEM meaning science, technology, engineering, and math – might be brand new to the road, but according to Southwest Montana member Experience Manager Erin Steuer of Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming, the van took two and a half years to complete. After delays with programming and COVID-19, this inaugural summer tour will visit 78 different communities between Montana and Wyoming, a 245,000 square mile region.
“Our little van is going to put on some milage this year,” Steuer laughed.
A cargo style van, the mobile center’s activities – everything from microscopes to 3D pens – are all powered by solar, making it a self-contained mobile learning unit. “It’s pretty comprehensive (from) health science all the way up to 3D printing and that kind of stuff,” Steuer stated. Beyond what’s in the van, when stopped in areas without certain restrictions or with the room to sprawl out, the learning center also has drones and virtual reality headsets that kids can learn to use.
“The Girl Scouts did a lot of fundraising to not only purchase the van, but to purchase all of the equipment that goes in it,” Steuer commented. “The goal really of the STEM van is to make sure that we can bring hands on STEM programs and education to girls in rural and tribal communities who typically aren’t represented in the STEM world.”
With each stop lasting an hour and a half, the program is free and open to all kids in K-12, Girl Scouts and non-Girl Scouts alike, no registration required.
“In particular with Arlee, we partnered with the Community Development Center, just specifically because we know it’s a trusted central part of the community, and their staff has been absolutely wonderful in accommodating us and helping us do outreach for the project,” Steuer said. “It’s one of those things where, as you start talking to people in the community you realize that things like this don’t come around very often. Especially without having to drive, say to Missoula, to do a program or something like that.”
In addition to bringing the van to town, the Southwest Montana Girl Scouts brought along boxes upon boxes of cookies to donate to the Arlee CDC food pantry, contributing to the community in another way as well.
“We brought cookies when we did a program at the YWCA shelter in Missoula, and you could just see how nice it is for just a treat,” Steuer commented. “The food pantry is open just right after our program too, so it’ll be great.”
To see the schedule of where the van will be next, as well as to learn more or get involved, visit: https://www.gsmw.org/en/get-involved/support-us/mobile-stem-center.html
“Anyone K-12 should come out and check it out,” Steuer stated. “Try something new and get to experience something that might pique their interest in STEM careers or a path in STEM in the future.”
