Fourth Year Of AZ SciTech Festival Officially Underway
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The Fourth Annual Arizona SciTech Festival officially kicked off Wednesday, launching more than 800 science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, events taking place in the next few months. What started with a few partners in the Valley has grown into a statewide event partnering schools, nonprofits and corporations.
Events are taking place in small communities like Sahuarita here in the Valley and in rural areas, such as the Verde Valley.
Jeremy Babendure is the director of the festival and facilitated the statewide teleconference. It was an “all hands on deck” call for Arizona communities ready to showcase their STEM initiatives.
“Next we head over north, to another community that started last year, Verde Valley. And this community has really exploded in terms of events as well and showcases industries with UAVs [unmanned aviation vehicles,] viticulture," Babendure said in the teleconference.
At the Tempe site, Councilwoman Robin Arredondo-Savage has helped organize the festival. In the last few years there has been a rising call to include arts in the STEM movement, known as STEAM. It encourages increased focus on design and presentation of scientific concepts, and Arredondo-Savage sees Tempe as well suited for that.
“One of things that we did want to do and we didn’t do it initially was to involve the arts. And we think it’s just really important and really part of what Tempe is and the Tempe culture so we’re really excited to get the Tempe Center for the Arts and a lot of our local artists to come out," she said.
The SciTech festival events are just as diverse as the communities sponsoring them, from Wild Animal Science, Astronomy to Geek Week.
