On February 21st, West Branch hosted its first-ever STEAM Night. To say this night was a success is an understatement. There were over 350 people in attendance, and the whole auxiliary gym was filled! Many local businesses, colleges, organizations, and West Branch clubs came together to fulfill this amazing idea to make a fun night for kids and their families in the West Branch community and surrounding areas. Alexa Prestash, a West Branch student and member of the CSO’s club, said, “I thought that the STEAM Night was really fun and that it was a great idea from Mrs. Peterson and Mrs. O’Hare to do one. I hope that there is one next year as well.” Alexa Prestash and her two partners, Coby Kephart and Skyler Hebel, had a station where they showed kids and their families how to extract DNA from strawberries!

This STEAM Night was not only educational but also very entertaining for everyone. The kids and their families learned how to code, how to build catapults, learned about robotics, weather, nanotechnology, how to identify birds, color theory, rocks and fossils, Tello drones, video games, Ozobots, physics and sports, Bee-Bots, invisible ink, DNA extraction, and so much more! They also had a chance to make their own t-shirts with Box 125, make slime with the KEY Club, play with Oobleck, build with Legos, color, and make their own ice cream. In addition to all of the fun hands-on activities, the West Branch KEY Club offered different soups, hot dogs, and all kinds of drinks to all families and their children who attended the event. On the way out of the door, every child could pick from an assortment of STEAM-related books and get to take one home! This was a huge success for West Branch, and the community really loved it.