(Guthrie Center, IA) – Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 28! Panorama Elementary School in Panora will be the site for the 10th annual Guthrie County STEM Festival coordinated by staff at the Guthrie County Extension Office. “Building Your Future in STEM” is the theme for this interactive event designed for hand-on learning activities for children of all ages. A planning committee has been working on the details since late January. About twenty booths of STEM exhibitors will be on hand to work with students from pre-school through 6th grade. Parents or adults who will be bringing students are also encouraged to make the rounds of exhibitor tables. The event is free starting at 9:00 am and running until 12:00 pm.

“STEM is a very important discussion right now in Iowa and across the nation as employers are searching for qualified candidates to fill many open positions in the workforce. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are critically important work skills no matter what your job is. This is true in all career areas, from medical to technology, to agriculture to manufacturing. STEM is an attempt to increase knowledge of what businesses do in their specific fields, and how we can help students think about the skills they will need to become part of that future workforce”, according to Casey Wenstrand, the STEM Manager in the Southwest Region of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Program.

Exhibitors attending this event are AC/GC FFA, Panorama FFA, Guthrie County Farm Bureau, Guthrie County REC, Iowa Trust and Savings Bank, Raccoon Valley Radio, Iowa Corn Growers, POET Biorefining, Guthrie State Bank, Guthrie Hospital, Panora Fiber, Iowa Motor Truck Association, Guthrie County Master Gardeners, Blender Bike, Iowa Soil and Water, Guthrie County Cattlemen, Quick Photography, and Dallas County Hospital-Panora Clinic.

Questions regarding the event may be directed to the Guthrie County Extension Office at 641.747.2276.