Tennessee STEAM fest this week brings science to life across the state
Activities for the sixth annual Tennessee STEAM Festival are underway and run through Oct. 23.
The festival’s popular “STEAM-a-Palooza” returns this year on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Discovery Center, 502 S.E. Broad St. in Murfreesboro. This free, all-ages outdoor event (rain or shine) features robotics, creative arts, environmental conservation, composting, cosmetics, physics, mathematics, and meteorology as well as live performances and food trucks. In addition, Discovery Center’s general admission for indoor exhibits will be half-price from noon to 4 p.m. on Oct. 15.
“Where else can curious kids and adults navigate using the stars, hunt for bugs with an entomologist, engage with scientists, engineers, tech-industry experts and artists in a 10-day celebration across the state?” said Discovery Center CEO Tara MacDougall.
Featured events
Zoo Knoxville Monarch Tagging at the Seven Islands State Birding Park, Kodak – Oct. 15-16
Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley Celebrating Women & Girls In STEM at the Market Square Farmers Market, Knoxville – Oct. 15
Conservation and Art at The Elephant Sanctuary, Hohenwald – Oct. 15
Big Bug Hunt at the Historic Sam Davis House, Smyrna – Oct. 15
Lantern Parade, Discovery Center, Murfreesboro – Oct. 20
Featured partners
Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum
Adventure Science Center
Children’s Museum of Memphis
Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge
Creative Discovery Museum
Creative Girls Rock
Edge Motor Museum
FiftyForward Senior Centers
Friends of Mill Ridge Park
Frist Art Museum
Hands On! Discovery Center
McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture
Memphis Botanic Garden
Metal Museum
Middle Tennessee State University
Muse Knoxville
Nashville Ballet
National Weather Service
Oz Arts Nashville
Reelfoot Lake State Park
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies
The Caverns
The Parthenon
WonderWorks
The festival was founded by the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring and incorporates events hosted by a wide range of museums, schools, community centers and other attractions. More information is available at TNsteam.org.
MTSU partnership
Events at MTSU include:
• “Rocks, Fossils, the Civil War and Revolution on the Murfreesboro Greenway” — 10 a.m. Oct. 15, an outdoors event at Fortress Rosecrans Trailhead, 1916 Golf Lane, in Murfreesboro. It will be led by geosciences professor Mark Abolins (Mark.Abolins@mtsu.edu).
Abolins said the trailhead is the gateway to limestone rock formations and fossils millions of years old, Civil War fortifications and a creek named after a Revolutionary War captain. He recommends wearing sturdy shoes or boots.
• “Trees are Terrific! A Self-Guided Tour of MTSU’s Arboretum” at MTSU. It is an outside tree tour that can be done anytime during daylight hours. Professor Kim Cleary Sadler (Kim.Sadler@mtsu.edu) said it is a casual walk that takes about two hours.
City of Murfreesboro
The Murfreesboro Municipal Airport will host a STEAM Festival event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday Oct. 22, featuring static displays showing off aviation and what the airport brings to the community. There will be educational opportunities to teach everyone the fundamentals of aviation.
The Experimental Aircraft Association will teach kids how planes fly and show off the aircraft that fly in and out of the airport daily. Other activities are planned.
The list of participants in the Murfreesboro Airport STEAM Festival event also include:
The 101st Airborne Division: CH-47 (Chinook)
TN Army National Guard: UH-60 (Blackhawk)
Murfreesboro City Police: SWAT equipment
Murfreesboro City Fire: Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) and fire suppression equipment
T-34 Association: T-34 Naval Trainer Display
Murfreesboro Aviation: Soviet Yakovlev Fighter Trainer
MTSU: jet and piston engines on display to see all the inner workings of the engine and well as show off the aircraft that train future airline pilots!
Vanderbilt LifeFlight: see one of their active service medical evac helicopters
Microsoft Flight Simulator: fly the same plane you just sat in right out of MBT
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Tennessee STEAM fest brings science to life across the state this week