STEM in Waterloo Schools

10/05/2026

Inspiring the next generation of innovators! 🛠️🤖

32 Waterloo Community School District middle school girls from Bunger Middle School, Hoover Middle School (Waterloo, IA), George Washington Carver Academy, and Central Middle School-WCSD spent an exciting Saturday exploring the world of STEM at the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Conference on the University of Northern Iowa campus!

Our future engineers dove hands-on into metal casting, tackled robot programming, and gained valuable insights hearing directly from women leaders contributing to the engineering field today.

It was a beautiful Saturday spent learning, creating, and exploring on the UNI campus...and lunch at the dining center was a hit! ✨💜

06/08/2026

Waterloo Community School District students and families! Come see us at the RiverLoop Amphitheatre on Wednesday, June 10th for the Ballet Des Moines Summer Tour! Businesses and organizations from all over our community will be there with fun activities! See the schedule for the evening below. Kick off the summer with STEM, arts, and community!

Music Performance 5:15-6pm
Music by local and regional musicians, presented by Brucemore. Come enjoy an outdoor dinner provided by local food trucks and vendors, engage in family art activities, and enjoy a performance from a range of musicians and spoken word artists.

Community Dance Class 6-6:30pm
Take the stage in a community dance class. You and your family will participate in a free community dance class to learn more about ballet, contemporary dance, and how dance can create a more connected and joyful community.

Ballet Des Moines Performance 6:30-7:30pm
Excerpts from the Ballet Des Moines 2025-26 season. Take your seats for an astounding performance of classical and contemporary ballet, including excerpts from Cinderella and a collection of new contemporary works by some of the most exciting choreographers today.

05/27/2026

Waterloo Community School District students! Are you interested in planting your own garden?

ISU Extension & Outreach will be providing FREE gardening kits for any Waterloo Schools student who would like one! Kits will include seed starts, soil and flower pots to get students started on their own garden this summer. The kits also include resources to learn about how to grow your own food and in the fall you can learn more about cooking with fresh garden produce!

Pick up for garden kits will be on Monday, June 1st at Carver Academy from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in the Greenhouse! Fill out the linked form to get your very own garden starter kit!

Black Hawk County Extension and Outreach

ISU Extension & Outreach will be providing FREE gardening kits for any Waterloo school student who would like one! Kits will include seed starts, soil and flower pots to get students started on their own garden this summer. Kids will have resources to learn about how to grow their own food and in th...

04/27/2026

Get ready to rev those engines and spark some curiosity! 🚜✨

Head out to Deere Days at the Museum, a FREE weekend celebration packed with history, high energy, and hands-on fun for the whole family!

📅 Mark Your Calendars:
June 12 & 13 The John Deere Tractor Museum

🚜 What’s Happening:
The Tractor Show: See some legendary iron! You won’t want to miss our “Chief Tractor Kid,” Jackson Laux, who will be showing off his very own John Deere 3020.

STEAM on Wheels: This incredible mobile lab is rolling in to provide interactive science, tech, engineering, arts, and math experiences for young innovators.

Live Blacksmith Demos: Watch sparks fly as masters of the craft show off traditional skills.

5K Run/Walk: Get moving through the beautiful museum grounds.

Note: Check out the attached flyer for the full schedule of events and specific times for the STEAM on Wheels activities!

Admission is FREE! We hope to see our amazing Waterloo Schools students there!

04/21/2026

🚀 Ready to dive into the world of STEM this summer? 🧬🤖

Whether you're looking to crack the code of the universe or build the next great robot, UNI has a camp for you! Check out the summer lineup at the University of Northern Iowa:

🔬 High School (Grades 9-12)
The Quantumverse: Explore quantum physics and computing. FREE registration thanks to a federal grant! 🌌

Biotech Camp: Get hands-on with DNA extraction and gel electrophoresis. Level up your lab skills for university and beyond. ($150, includes lunch on Friday!) 🧪

🤖 Robotics Programs (Grades 5-10)
Intro to Robotics (Grades 5-7): Perfect for beginners! Use Spike Prime robots to tackle moon missions. 🌙

Intermediate Robotics (Grades 7-10): Take your block coding and logic to the next level with advanced challenges. 💻

No prior experience is required for our intro camps!

🔗 Register & Learn More: camps.uni.edu
📧 Questions? Email [email protected]

UNI Summer Camps Panther Sports CampsFor UNI Panther sports camps, visit the UNI Panthers.com website and select a sport to see their camp offerings (usually under the More Links menu). ‌WRC Youth CampsFor camps offered by the UNI Wellness/Recreation Center, visit the WRC Youth Programs page.Acad...

04/10/2026

Best of luck to the Waterloo Community School District robotics team FRC Team 5837 Unity4Tech as they compete this weekend in Minnesota!

Friday's competition is off to a great start as they are currently ranked 18th of 51 schools!

You can watch matches with these links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSeQIuPJJe0 Friday 4/10 FIRST Webcast Unit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkdMFFg5k2I Saturday 4/11 FIRST Webcast Unit

04/06/2026

We had an absolute blast at the Iowa Regional! Every single 4th grader from Waterloo Community School District got to experience the world of competitive robotics!

Our students filled the stands with some serious pride as they cheered on our very own FRC Team 5837 Unity4Tech. Watching our 4th graders witness the power of STEM in action was truly inspiring—future engineers and innovators in the making! 🤖💪

🙌 A Huge Shoutout to those who make this visit possible!
We couldn’t have asked for better guides to the world of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). A massive thank you to these teams for sharing their passion and expertise with our students:

Unity4Tech (Our hometown heroes!)

Waverly’s Wave Droids 🌊

Iowa City’s Children of the Corn 🌽

✨ Behind the Scenes
This wonderful experience wouldn't have been possible without our amazing partners at the McElroy Trust. Thank you for your support of LifeLabs and for joining us at the event to see the impact firsthand. Your commitment to our kids is what makes days like this possible!

Check out some of the highlights from today’s competition below! 👇

04/06/2026

FRC Team 5837 Unity4Tech just wrapped up an incredible run at the FIRST Robotics Competition Iowa Regional competing against 53 powerhouse teams from across 7 states! 🌍🙌

After the qualification round, they secured a Top 20 ranking and were fired up to be the 1st pick of the #8 Alliance! 💥 While they finished their playoff run tied for 7th place, they didn’t walk away empty-handed...

🏆THEY WON THE SUSTAINABILITY AWARD! 🏆

This honor is about more than just one season. It recognizes Unity4Tech for having a rock-solid plan for the future, including:

🎓 A strong pipeline for the next generation of innovators.

💰 Smart funding strategies to keep them rolling.

🌱 A deep commitment to respecting our environment.

Huge shoutout to all the students, mentors, and sponsors who make sure Unity4Tech isn't just a team for today, but a force for tomorrow! 🦾🔥

Waterloo Community School District John Deere

03/02/2026

What a weekend! Our Waterloo Community School District FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams truly left it all on the field at the IA State Championship, and we couldn’t be prouder of how they represented our community. 🤖✨

From nail-biting matches to technical hurdles, our students handled every high and low with Gracious Professionalism and a whole lot of heart. While the FTC season has officially come to a close, the energy and growth we saw this weekend were the real trophies.

🏆 The State Championship Breakdown:
7247 H2O Loo Bots: Finished 28th out of 72 and took home the 3rd Place Inspire Award! This prestigious award recognizes a truly well-balanced team with a stellar record of achievement.

7248 Sea of Electrons: Put up a great fight, ranking 43rd in the state!

15480 Carver AstroWizBots: Showed incredible grit, ranking 47th!

8008 Bunger Robo-Wolves: Kept the spirit high and ranked 68th!

🚀 What’s Next?
The 2025-2026 FTC chapter ends, but another is just getting started! Focus now shifts to the high school FRC Team 5837 Unity4Tech. They are officially in high gear preparing for the IA FRC Regional at the UNI Campus—happening in less than 4 weeks!

Thank you to the coaches, mentors, parents, and fans who supported every FTC team's journey!

02/09/2026

🛠️ Building the Future: 7th Grade IT & Engineering Day!
Last week, the energy was electric at our LifeLab 7th Grade IT & Engineering Day! ⚡️

Every 7th grader across Waterloo Community School District stepped out of the traditional classroom and into the shoes of engineers, programmers, and tech innovators. From coding and cybersecurity to advanced manufacturing, our students got their hands dirty (and their brains firing!) with real-world technology.

This kind of immersive learning doesn't happen without an incredible community behind it. A massive THANK YOU to the local businesses, college partners, and student leaders who volunteered their time to inspire the next generation of creators:

🤝 Our Community & Industry Partners
John Deere
Collins Aerospace
VGM
Geater Machining & Manufacturing
Power Engineering & MFG., Ltd.
Hawkeye Community College
Black Hawk County Extension and Outreach

🎓 Student Leaders & School Teams
Waterloo Career Center: Cybersecurity, Game Design, Programming, and Advanced Manufacturing students.

Career & Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs): FFA, BPA, and SkillsUSA.

Waterloo FTC Robotics: Teams from Central, Carver, Bunger, and our high schools.

Waterloo Schools: CTE Students and our hardworking Tech Department.

Events like this bridge the gap between "What am I learning?" and "What can I become?" We are so proud of our students' curiosity and grateful for a community that invests in their potential.

FRC Team 5837 Unity4Tech Black Hawk County Extension and Outreach Collins Aerospace