Building Omaha’s Future Leaders
February-March 2018
Celebrating STEM in Omaha
Active Learning Workshop
February 27th
active minds. active learning. active spaces.
In partnership with the Omaha STEM Ecosystem, Sheppard’s Business Interiors and Steelcase, a group of over 30 folks attended the Active Learning Workshop. Educators, administrators, school facility planners/designers, and business partners engaged in discussion on the importance of how space, pedagogy, and tech intersect to facilitate engaged and active learning for students.
One educator came away with a broadened horizon from the experience,
“Looking at my classroom, from a different lens was powerful. I’m now thinking of how I currently reach my students and how I can improve the level of engagement.”
Omaha STEM Ecosystem’s Communication Committee,
Makes Progress on Message Mapping
In Mid-February, the Communications Committee assembled at the Omaha Public Schools Administration Building to focus on fashioning the message map for Omaha STEM Ecosystem. This message map is crucial in providing a framework for constructing receptive messages, to reach each of our distinct audiences.
Monique Farmer, the Communications Director of Omaha Public Schools, led this exercise to formulate the central message for Omaha STEM Ecosystem which states,
“Omaha STEM Ecosystem is transforming Omaha into a robust STEM community to grow our talent pipeline. We’re doing it by developing key local and national partnerships.”
As the ecosystem continues to grow, we want to assure that our mission is to be clear and concise with our partners. Our story, is one that we want to be compelling and consistent. Having a central theme will ensure that ours will be dynamic as time goes on into the future.
Mark your Calendar for Upcoming STEM Events
Pathways to Emerging Technology: Virtual Reality Technology in
the Workplace, Today and Tomorrow
You can register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pathways-to-emerging-technology-panel-discussion-tickets-43558256919
Metro Science and Engineering Fair
March 10, 2018
For information, go to: http://msefomaha.com
HOSA Nebraska State Leadership Conference
March 19 – 20, 2018
For information, contact: Kori Jensen@nebraska.gov
Enhance Your Zoo Field Trip
March 31, 2018
For more information, go to: http://www.omahazoo.com/professional-development
Fremont High School STEM Expo
April 6, 2018
For more information, contact: karlus.cozart@ops.org
Math with a Computer Scientist
April 17, 2018
For more information, contact: julie.sigmon@omahazoo.com
Hillside Elementary STEM Night
April 19, 2018
For more information, contact: d66hillside@gmail.com
Nebraska Science Festival
April 19 – 28, 2018
For information, go to: http://nescifest.com/
City Nature Challenge
April 27 – 30, 2018
For information, contact: julie.sigmon@omahazoo.com
For more events and dates check out our website at: http://omahastem.com/
Resources/Articles
New Course in Virtual Reality Being Offered!
Housed on the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) campus in Omaha, Nebraska, the EON Reality VR Innovation Academy (VRIA) is an exceptional opportunity for candidates interested in learning how to work in the exciting field of 3D/AR/VR.
The EON Reality VR Innovation Academy Omaha will train local students to become AR and VR professionals through a course consisting of 16 weeks of study and 33 weeks of project based learning. Students will learn the underpinnings of AR and VR, 3D content creation, coding, and project management. Upon completion, students will receive an EON Reality AR/VR Developer Certification. This is an industry certification, not affiliated with UNMC. Upon successful completion of the course, an EON Reality AR/VR Developer Certification will be awarded.
Beginning June 4th, 2018, the learners will develop skills to create Augmented & Virtual Reality applications for many diverse fields, such as health care, architecture, and product visualization. The course requires a commitment to training through June 21, 2019 learning from experts in the field of AR/VR and developing and enhancing skills as the course teams (alongside the same AR/VR experts) work on real-world projects from varied market segments.
The U.S. Drops Out of the Top 10 in Innovation Rankings
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-22/south-korea-tops-global-innovation-ranking-again-as-u-s-falls
Falcon Heavy, in a Roar of Thunder, Carries SpaceX’s Ambition into Orbit
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/science/falcon-heavy-spacex-launch.html
We want to celebrate STEM professionals in the Greater Omaha area. Do you know of someone who has an awesome job using STEM application in their everyday work? We would love to highlight them in our next newsletter. Contact Julie Sigmon at: julie.sigmon@omahazoo.com.
