Arizona SciTech Blog
This blog is courtesy of the Arizona SciTech Festival.
Track: Festival & Event Planning
This session will offer insight into how to brand your program, project or event in a way that demonstrates a S.T.E.A.M focus through innovative ideas, wording and imagery. Your brand is YOU, the organization, and your projects can uniquely express that. Join us to learn how.
Presenters
- Flagstaff Festival of Science – Bonnie Stevens – bonnie.stevens@gmail.com
- Tempe Geek’s Night Out – Parrish Spisz – parrish_spisz@tempe.gov
- Spring Training Festival – Mike Phillips mphillips@scottsdaleaz.gov
- STEAMTastic – Loretta Mondragon – loretta.mondragon@paradisevalley.edu
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Track: STEM Instruction

Seen above: Airbeam sensor and a cell phone display of the Aircasting app (used in Kids Making Sense to collect air pollution data)
Kids Making Sense is a global environmental educational program that unites science, technology, engineering, and math education to empower youth to change the environment in their communities and to improve public health. Kids Making Sense teaches youth how to measure particle pollution using portable air quality sensors and how to interpret the data they collect.
Presenter
- Jenny Frank, Education Outreach Coordinator, Maricopa County Air Quality Department, JennyFrank@mail.maricopa.gov, (602) 506-6355
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Conference Session: “Mesa Arts Center Jewelry-Making Lecture-Demonstrations: Electroforming, Electro-Etching and Vitreous Enamel on Copper with Polly O’Dette”
Track: Art, Design Through STEM
See how electrical current can attach metal to metal and how molten enamel is fused onto a copper object.
Presenters
- Polly O’Dette
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Conference Session: “Mesa Arts Center Glass-Making Lecture-Demonstration: Hot Science with Seth Fairweather”
Track: Art, Design Through STEM
Watch and learn about how fiber optics are made, how hot glass conducts electricity, glass popcorn and Prince Rupert’s Drop.
Presenters
- Seth Fairweather
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Conference Session: “Fredi Lajvardi: Nationally Recognized STEM Educator & Subject of the Critically Acclaimed Documentary, Underwater Dreams, and Major Motion Picture, Spare Parts”
Track: STEM Instruction
FREDI LAJVARDI kindles your innate sense of ingenuity with his remarkable first-hand account of how he transformed a group of high school students into a national champion robotics team.
Fredi captivated the country when he led his team of disadvantaged teenagers in a university-level underwater robotics competition, where they defeated leading schools, including top-ranked MIT. Their story inspired the acclaimed documentary “Underwater Dreams” and was also adapted into the major motion picture, “Spare Parts,” starring actor and comedian George Lopez as Fredi. His award-winning Falcon Robotics team will be featured in the 2017 film “Dream Big.”
Honored with numerous awards for his spirited passion for teaching, Fredi continues to serve as a prominent advocate about the importance of STEM education nationwide.
With humor and compassion, Fredi brings audiences on his inspiring journey, illustrating the need to embrace diversity and invest in people to help others realize their potential. His incredible real life tale equips you with the real-life encouragement to maximize your own potential and to work together to solve complex problems.
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Track: STEM Careers & Business
Presenter:
- Craig Shames
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Back by popular demand, come see the amazing STEM talent showcased at our 4th annual Arizona’s Got STEM Talent show! We will have about 6-7 “acts” for the session. Each team will have 3-5 minutes to present their demo.
Presenters: TBA
Do you have a STEM talent that you can showcase in 3 minutes or less? If so, let us know. We are looking for 7 of Arizona’s top STEM Talent to showcase as part of our 3rd Annual Arizona’s Got STEM Talent session. Please email Jessica Hauer at Jessica.Hauer@asu.edu ASAP if you are interested.
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Track: Community STEM Action & Volunteerism
Presenters:
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Host: Kalman Mannis, Project Director for Rural Activation and Innovation Network, mrkmannis@gmail.com, mannisk@azscience.org, cell/text: 928-245-2839
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Track: Community STEM Action & Volunteerism
This session will highlight the power of organization with a vision to promote STEM experiences. Speakers represent three rural regions of Arizona that have brought together members from education, business, government, and non-profits to support STEM. Hear about experiences, about best practices, and strategic planning for success. These are members of vibrant rural Arizona, but their lessons can easily be transferred to community organizing in any community of the state.
Presenters:
- John Jarchow, Retired Architect and Educator
- Susan Rodriguez, K6 Science Specialist and STEM Event Coordinator
- Alexandra Helm, Yavapai College, Verde Valley STEM Expo
- Kitty Roberts, Yavapai Apache Nation
- Paul Anger, Eastern Arizona Science Initiative
Register for the 7th Annual Arizona SciTech Festival Kickoff Conference: “Building Arizona’s STEM Ecosystem” today!
Track: STEM Instruction
Panels and demonstrations have long been part of educational conferences. However, in today’s constructivist STEM classroom teachers are expected to allow students “to do” learning. Given this viewpoint, the Sci-Tech Festival Kick-off is going to provide interactive hands-on learning opportunities for educators.
During each 50-minute session there will be 2-25-minute rotations. During each rotation participants will be able to actively learn about, explore, and “play with” a form of educational technology they can use in the K-8 classroom. After each session teachers will leave with resources they can take with them to continue the excitement and learning in their schools. These sessions are designed or teachers and adults and are not designed students.
Presenters: (TBD)