Local K-8 Students and Families Invited to Free STEM Day at Virginia Western Community College

Virginia Western Community College will host its second annual STEM Day on Saturday, April 13. The free event is open to all K-8 students in the college's service region. This includes Roanoke, Salem, Roanoke County, Craig County, Franklin County, and southern Botetourt County. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the college's campus on 3080 Colonial Ave. in Roanoke. All students, regardless of school type, are welcome and free parking is available.

STEM faculty members Lanette Upshaw and Heather Lindberg are coordinating the event. It will include hands-on activities in various STEM subjects. These activities will take place in the Virginia Western’s STEM Building and Fralin Center for Health Professions, as well as outdoors.

Activities will include gaming and coding with Raspberry Pi’s, 3D printing, robot demonstrations, and more. There will also be a focus on STEM in the military, with optional donations for Virginia Western’s Armed Forces Student Association.

The first STEM Day, held last year, attracted around 2,000 attendees. Virginia Western Dean of STEM Amy White was pleased with the community response. She stressed the importance of early STEM engagement for students and the career opportunities it can provide.

The event has support from various community partners. These include Blue Eagle Credit Union, City of Roanoke, Freedom First Credit Union, Mission BBQ, Novonesis, local police and fire departments, the Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office, Verge, Virginia Department of Forensic Science, Virginia Tech’s Baja team, Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Virginia Tech’s formula race car and motorcycle team, VPT, Inc., and WJJS.

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