2023-24 was a huge success for the Mid-Valley STEM-CTE Hub, driving STEAM education and career-connected learning in Linn and Benton counties.
The impact is clear. In the 2023-24 year, the Hub delivered over 10,000 hours of STEAM programming to local students, supported the professional development of more than 2,300 educators, and provided over 1,800 students with access to essential equipment through our loaning programs.
Looking Back
We invite you to celebrate the remarkable achievements made possible through our partnerships by exploring the programs and learning opportunities we cultivated together during the 2023-24 school year. Please take a few moments to browse MVSCH’s 2023-24 Annual Report.
Thank you to our pipeline funders, sponsors, community partners, and educators in the Linn-Benton region for your unwavering support for our mission of bringing equitable STEAM and career-connected learning opportunities to the region.
Photo Captions
Front cover: Two students working together to solder a circuit board.
Table of Contents: (Starting in the top left and going clockwise) (1) A Mobile Makerspace participant playing with the slime they made during programming. (2) A young child using Makey Makey. (3&4) King’s Valley Charter School students using Snap Circuit kits. (5) Philomath High School student setting up a Hot Wheels track. (6) A student measuring the height of their Keva Planks structure. (7) A teen learning how to use pH strips in a lesson about acids and alkalines. (8) A student building a drone. (9) Middle school students learning how to program robots during a visit to The MILL. (10) Latine Leadership Conference participant learning how to solder in The MILL.
Page 3: MVSCH Director, Sarah Whiteside, helping a student with their project during a Mobile Makerspace event.
Page 5: Mid-Valley STEM-CTE Hub team.
Page 6: (top right) Scio student working on their handmade leather necklace. (middle left) Mobile Makerspace coordinator, Kelsie Szeszulski, helping mother and young child use a leather press at an event at the Lebanon Library. (middle center) Two high school students collaborating on a drone project. (middle right) Latine Leadership Conference participant learning how to solder circuitry in The MILL. (bottom) A teen building paper circuit cubes.
Page 7: (top) A high school student practicing reading comprehension by following step-by-step instructions. (middle) A team of middle school students celebrating a victory in a competitive robot activity. (bottom) Teen showing off their creation made by only using a 3D pen.
Page 8: (left) Philomath High School student tinkering with a drone. (center) Philomath High School student constructing a Hot Wheels Track. (bottom) Harrisburg Middle School students collaborating on the construction of a Hot Wheels track.
Page 9: (round) Nuestro Futuro participant learning how to use Snap Circuits.
Page 10: (left) A Harrisburg Mobile Makerspace participant playing with their slime project. (right) Two Monroe kids working together on an engineering project.
Page 11: Program Assistant, Svea Bruslind, helping a kid work a leather cutting tool at a Mobile Makerspace event at the Lebanon Library.
Page 12: (round) Nuestro Futuro participants exploring circuit-building with Snap Circuits. (center) Latine Leadership Conference participants learning how to solder in The MILL.
Page 13: (top) A local educator learning about pipe-bending during an Educator Externship’s visit to Central Electrical Training Center.
Page 14: (top left) A young child inking a rubber fish while trying gyotaku printing at a Mobile Makerspace event at Scio Library. (top right) Alsea kid learning about magnetic fields at a Mobile Makerspace event at Alsea Library. (middle center) A young girl and her father work on a leather tooling project together at the Lebanon Public Library. (bottom left) A student measuring the height of their project. (bottom middle) A high school student using Snap Circuits. (bottom right) A young student admiring their creation.
Page 15: (top) Child making slime at a Mobile Makerspace event at Alsea Library. (middle right) Highland Woodshop co-owner, Katherine Edmonds, teaching a middle school student how to use a band saw during a skateboarding-making project. (bottom left) Philomath High School student designing a Hot Wheels track. (bottom right) A kiddo showing off the earrings they made in a Mobile Makerspace leather tooling event at Scio Library.
Page 16: (bottom left) MILL student employee, Raj Sindhu, teaching a student about circuitry. (center image) Students from Sand Ridge Charter School work together on a robotics activity while visiting The MILL.
Page 17: (middle) A middle school student using hand tools to shape their handmade skateboard. (right) Latine Leadership Conference participant learning how to solder in The MILL.
Page 18: (top) Portrait of Asher Richmond, a student employee of The MILL during the 2023-24 school year. (bottom) MILL student employee, Sierra Brightly, teaching students how to block code on an iPad.
Page 19: Portrait of Raj Sindhu, a student employee of The MILL during the 2023-24 school year.
Page 20: (left) Preschool student programming a BeeBot. (round) Educators in a professional development program learning how to use BeeBots.
Page 21: Pre-school students working in teams to complete a project utilizing BeeBots
Page 22: (round) portrait of Closing the Gap guest speaker, Sarala Paliwal. (bottom) LB Sportscast host, Collin Butrlakorn, recording in The MILL’s podcasting studio.
Page 23: (top) Queer Maker Meet-up event in The MILL. (bottom) Queer Maker Meet-up event flyer.
Page 24: A hand displaying a Finch Robot 2.0, an Educators’ Lending Library loanable item.
Page 25: 2024 CTE Signing Day scholarship recipient, Kylee Mills with Animal Technology program chair Jenny Strooband.
Page 26: (top left) Two Harrisburg youngsters making slime at a Mobile Makerspace event at Harrisburg Library. (top right) Latine Leadership Conference participant learning about circuitry in The MILL. (middle left) Brownsville Mobile Makerspace participant testing out their straw rocket. (middle right) Harrisburg Mobile Makerspace participant testing the stretchiness of their slime. (bottom left) Scio students using a leather die cutter during a Mobile Makerspace visit at Scio Library. (bottom right) Brownsville student designing a marble run at a Mobile Makerspace event.
Page 27: (top) Philomath High School student flying a drone. (middle) Nuestro Futuro participant experimenting with Snap Circuits. (bottom) Students from Sand Ridge Charter School showing off the trophy they earned while visiting The MILL for robotics activities.
Page 28: (left) Philomath High School student exploring circuitry with Snap Circuits. (right) Sweet Home child using a shake table at a Mobile Makerspace event in the Sweet Home Library.
Page 29: Philomath High School student practicing circuit building with Snap Circuits.
Source References
Page 9: Eser, A. (n.d.). New Study Reveals Astounding Impact of Hands-On Learning Statistics Data. WorldMetrics.org. https://worldmetrics.org/hands-on-learning-statistics/
Page 10: Allen, P. J., Noam, G. G., & Little, T. D. (n.d.). Multi-State Evaluation Finds Evidence that Investment in Afterschool STEM Works. STEM Ready America. http://stemreadyamerica.org/multi-state-evaluation-finds-evidence-that-investment-in-afterschool-stem-works/
Page 13: (2024, April 17). Employment in STEM occupations. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/stem-employment.htm
Page 18: DeVille, K. (2024, May 4). The Impact of Hands-On Learning on STEM Education Outcomes. STEM Education Guide. https://stemeducationguide.com/hands-on-learning-experiences-stem-education/
Page 20: McClure, E. R., Guernsey, L., Clements, D. H., Bales, S. N., Nichols, J., Kendall-Taylor, N., Levine, M. H., Ashbrook, P., & Hoisington, C. (n.d.). STEM Starts Early. Joan Ganz Cooney Center. https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/jgcc_stemstartsearly_final.pdf
Photo Credits
All photos used in the 2023-24 Annual Report were captured by Marketing Specialist, Kacey Montgomery.
