Event will feature exhibitions from local STEM students, robots and national and local speakers.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Time Warner Cable (TWC) and the KC STEM Alliance are partnering to kick off the 2012-13 KC area K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education season by hosting STEM UP Kansas City! on Oct. 18 from 8 – 11 a.m. at Union Station.
More than 13,000 students from 27 school districts are served by STEM-focused organizations in the Kansas City area. STEM UP Kansas City! will celebrate student participation in STEM activities and highlight the importance of STEM education in developing America’s problem solvers of the future.
The breakfast event, sponsored by TWC, will officially open the Kansas City FIRST (KCFIRST) robotics season, as well as Project Lead the Way – Kansas City’s (PLTWKC) middle and high school curricular programs.
STEM UP Kansas City! will also kick off TWC’s annual sponsorship of local FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams and events. Getting children excited about and involved in STEM activities is the focus of TWC’s Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) corporate initiative, and this will be the fourth consecutive year that TWC is a major sponsor of local FLL and FRC programs.
Thursday’s event will feature local and national speakers, including Kansas City, Mo. Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Circo and former Kansas City Chief/current Regional VP of PLTWKC William White. Local representatives from the Girl Scouts and Boys and Girls Clubs, both of which are sponsored by Time Warner Cable, will also take part in a special announcement at the event.
Following the kickoff ceremony, local STEM students will showcase their engineering, biomedical, science and math projects, and there will also be a robotics exhibition and tournament demonstration.
STEM UP Kansas City! is a free event and is open to the KC area business community, educators and non-profit organizations. Guests must register to attend by visiting kcstem.org/stemupkc. The event will also serve as a volunteer rally where new recruits from throughout Greater Kansas City will be connected to the local STEM community.
“We are proud to kick off the 2012-13 STEM season by hosting this exciting event,” said Perry Watson, Area VP of Operations for Time Warner Cable. “Our company is committed to help inspire the next generation of problem solvers, and STEM UP Kansas City! is a great example of that.”
Event Timeline:
8 a.m. – Breakfast and coffee bar opens
8:15 a.m. – STEM UP Kansas City! season kickoff program begins
9:15 a.m. – STEM students showcase and robotics exhibition begins
10:15 a.m. – Volunteer breakout sessions
Press Release