IMSA Innovation Hub – Carbondale
In July 2024, IMSA opened its first Innovation Hub on the Carbondale campus of Southern Illinois University. This hub is a partnership between IMSA and the University’s STEM Education Research Center. The Hub serves the southern counties of Illinois by enacting IMSA’s legislative mandate to stimulate excellence in K-12 math and science education across the state. The hub provides STEM enrichment opportunities to students through summer camps and special events. It supports teachers by providing professional learning opportunities through workshops, conference presentations, and the publication of free, innovative lessons.
Upcoming Opportunities for K-12 Students
Summer Research Academy
is for students entering grades 10-12, and runs June 1 – June 27, 2025. SIU and IMSA are hosting a residential learning experience in which students engage in authentic research under the guidance of SIU faculty. A range of topics is available and students will submit their top choices when completing registration.
Schedule:
- Week 1 (40 hours), Remote: Students work under the guidance of their respective research professors to complete a review of literature to gain the requisite background knowledge to participate in hands-on science during weeks 2 and 3.
- Weeks 2-3 (80 hours) – In Person at SIU Campus: Students work with their respective research professors to conduct hands-on data collection, analysis, and interpretation of results. Additionally, students will have a full schedule of extracurricular activities throughout their stay at SIU.
- Week 4 (40 hours) – Remote: Students work under the guidance of their respective research professors to complete an academic poster to use as a visual aid to present and publish individual research findings.
Application and registration open in February 2025. Check back here for updates.
Sensory Engineering in the Field
is for students entering grades 7-8, and runs July 21 – July, 25, 2025. This camp integrates biology, engineering, and computer coding for five half-days in July.
Farmers and field biologists use multiple senses when assessing plant health. Some of this sensing can be automated using programmable machines. Students will learn about the function of the human sensory systems and create devices to duplicate these processes using electronic sensors and tiny computers (micro:bits) which students will program using a simple form of block-coding. By the end of the week, each student team will have created and programmed a device to scan a plant leaf, identify common problems, and recommend the appropriate corrective action.
Schedule: 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 Noon, Monday through Friday
Registration: Opens in February 2025. Check back here for updates.
Upcoming Opportunities for K-12 Teachers
Code of the Wild
This program is for K-2 teachers attending the Science in the South conference, April 11, 2025 at John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL. Students love to create stories about their favorite animals. Using free software called ScratchJr, participants in this workshop will learn to integrate science, writing, and computational thinking skills. A sequence of classroom activities is provided, allowing K-2 students to create animated stories about animals in their natural environments. Participants should bring a laptop or tablet. Registration for Science in the South opens in February 2025. Check back here for updates.
Elementary Einstein
This program is for grade 3-5 teachers attending the Science in the South conference, April 11, 2025 at John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL. Through children’s literature, we explore the life of a quirky boy who lived to think and dream. Hands-on STEM activities, related to Einstein’s work, are introduced as a way to address several of the required NGSS physical science standards for grade 3-5. We will learn about force, motion, electricity, and light using simple materials and the type of play once experienced by a boy growing up in his family’s electrical equipment shop. Registration for Science in the South opens in February 2025. Check back here for updates.
Coding with BBC micro:bits
This program is for elementary and middle school teachers attending the Computer Science PD Week from June 23 – 27 at the Capital Area Career Center,
2201 Toronto Road, Springfield, IL. In this one-day workshop, teachers will learn to program and use a tiny computer (the BBC micro:bit) and try several activities they can bring to their elementary and middle school classrooms. Scheduling details and registration will be available at https://www.ltcillinois.org/cspdweek/.
