Tips for STEM Night Success

I recently was tasked with planning a STEM night at a rural school in our state.  I worked with one of our graduates who is currently teaching at the middle school to coordinate activities and presentations for the elementary students of the community.  We trained the middle school students to facilitate the activities with the help of some of my college students. 

Here are 10 things I have learned from planning and carrying out this STEM Night:
1.  STEM nights are A LOT of work!
2.  Communication is the key to good attendance.
3.  Using social media to share about the event works well!  Most schools/school districts have Facebook pages.
4.  People don't tend to RSVP even when an email RSVP form is sent to every family.
5.  Find a guest speaker/presenter to kick off the event.
6.  Volunteers appreciate food.
7.  Plan and prepare plenty of materials for the activities.  It's better to have too many than not enough.
8.  Spread activities out.  We used the cafeteria for the more mellow activities, and used classrooms for the louder ones and ones with projectiles. (Check out my STEM night product for activity ideas here).
9.  Take pictures!  (This is where I didn't do so well; I was distracted with organizing)
10.  Get there early to get set up and organized.  This will ease your stress on the day of the event.t

I have participated in tons of STEM nights in my years of teaching, but this was the first one I actually coordinated.  The biggest worry for me was that no one would show up.  Since hardly any families RSVP'd I seriously didn't sleep the night before.  But thankfully, people did show up and all my worries were for nothing. 

               

Another great bonus that I was fortunate enough to have was a guest speaker who was a real live astronaut.  I truly believe the NASA astronaut was a huge draw for the community, and many wanted to come and listen to his presentation before the activities began. 

So my big take away is that this was a TON of work, but it was so worth it in the end.  Seeing the kids smiling faces was amazing, and the turn out of volunteers was very impressive.  Especially since they had to drive more than an hour to get to the school where the event was held.