Promote Your Company at Explore STEAM Event at Brookfield Central High School
The Elmbrook Education Foundation is seeking corporate partners for its second annual Explore STEAM Event at Brookfield Central High School on February 28, 2024. Last year, there were 34 corporate booths in which students from kindergarten through eighth grade participate in hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities to learn about potential careers.
Activities at last year’s event included building robots from recycled materials, making rubber band-powered helicopters, slime making, circuit flowers and an earthquake test where kids built lego structures and tested them on shake plates. And a teacher from Elmbrook paired up with the AP physics class to test the strength of their structures in a “crusher machine.”
The activities range in level of difficulty to appeal to different age groups, but there is no limit on the creativity of the corporate sponsors. Companies that participated last year and are returning include CG Schmidt, GE Healthcare, Bank Five Nine, American Carbon Co., Mathnasium, Millman, Steinbach Dental, Brown Dog Gadgets, Altius Building Company, Moreland Ob/Gyn, Code Ninjas, Crossmark Graphics and Strawbridge Studios. Some of the new sponsors this year include AllState, Club SciKidz, Generac and Gross Inspections.
Over 500 people attended last year’s sold-out event, which was run by 260 volunteers, and this year’s event promises to be even larger. The volunteers include students from the National Honor Society, Key Club and AP Physics students who help run the booths. In addition, the school’s Lego League and Robotics Clubs conduct demonstrations with their coaches at the event.
Beth Dobrzynski, Executive Director of the Elmbrook Education Foundation said, “In addition to the career exposure provided to young learners, the sponsors were able to foster relationships with high school students from Brookfield Central who were volunteering at the event. This is an opportunity to create future career connections between businesses and students.”
Funds raised from the Explore STEAM event will go towards the Robotics and Automation space that will be available at Brookfield East High School in the Fall of 2023. In order to meet new industry demands and respond to high student interest in authentic, hands-on experiences, the district is investing $1.6 million in the renovation of a classroom space for a new Robotics and Automation course, as well as a dedicated, full-size competition space for its state champion robotics club.
In addition to the Board-approved construction dollars that will pay for the remodeling of the existing automotive space at Brookfield East High School, the District has already secured $40,000 in state grants, and the EEF has committed an additional $100,000 of support (dollars and in-kind), to assist in the purchase of new technology, robotics and automation tools, storage, and design/build furniture for the Elmbrook Robotics space.
Sponsorship details are available at: https://www.elmbrookschools.org/elmbrook-education-foundation/events/explore-steam
Tickets for the event will be available on January 29th at https://ExploreSTEAM24.givesmart.com