About 150 people gathered at Humbolt Elementary in Canyon City on March 13, 2025, for the eagerly anticipated Humbolt Family STEM Night. Sponsored by the Humbolt Parent-Teacher Association, the event was all about making science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education engaging and fun.
Families participated in a variety of hands-on activities that encouraged creativity and learning. Among the seven STEM-themed projects hosted in teachers’ classrooms, children built beetles, paper spinners, leprechaun traps, towers, and rubber duck swings. Two math stations contributed additional excitement to the evening. The first math activity, sponsored by the middle school math club, paid homage to Pi Day, which is celebrated on March 14. They offered various math stations themed around the number pi, allowing students to explore this mathematical concept in a lively setting.
The second math station featured games using everyday items like decks of cards or dice. Activities at this station were sponsored by the school’s Title I program, aimed at reinforcing learning for students from low-income families.
Materials for the engineering activities were designed to be accessible; participants used common household items like egg cartons, pipe cleaners, straws, yarn, tape, marshmallows, and toothpicks to construct their projects. At the end of the event, families took home all the creations they built, making for a memorable night.
Kristal Hansen, a fourth-grade teacher who also acts as co-treasurer of the Humbolt PTA, played a pivotal role in coordinating STEM Night. It took her about six weeks to organize the event, which required reaching out to staff to secure volunteers for various activity stations. “Once they pick the events, we just keep it under our budget,” Hansen explained. “This year, we tried to focus on engineering and math due to some budget restrictions.”
Even with the limitations, Hansen expressed optimism about the breadth of learning opportunities: “Humbolt STEM Night is special because it is funded by the PTA, but presented by the Humbolt staff. It’s a blended event.” In previous years, they incorporated more technology-focused projects, thanks to grants from the Oregon State University Extension Service, but financial realities dictated a shift this year.
This family-oriented approach to education made STEM Night one of the most popular events at Humbolt Elementary. “I think it’s fun for the adults with the kids—I think they like that,” Hansen said, noting how the interest across the generations helped the event flourish. Families appreciated the collaborative learning environment, and children were visibly excited to engage in the projects.
Overall, the event exemplified not just the joy of learning but also the importance of community involvement in education. As families left with their projects in hand and smiles on their faces, it was clear that the combination of creativity, education, and fun made for a genuinely wonderful experience.
