STEM Harvest

06/15/2026

Launched just before the Hays Science Festival on May 2nd, W0RBO-12 is the balloon that just keeps going and going and going!!! The balloon is closing back in on the US mainland, which will be it's 2nd complete trip around the globe! If you want to follow along, click on either of the links with "12" in the name on our balloon launch page.

https://stemharvest.org/balloon-launch/



Ellis County Ham Operators Club (ECHO)

06/15/2026

🔥 YOU ALL DEMANDED IT... SO WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN! 🔥

🛑 ⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTE FOR PARENTS: These are the exact same classes as the first round! If your child is already signed up for the sessions on June 17th, please hold off on registering them for these so we can give new kids a chance to experience the magic. Don't worry, Level 2 and brand-new classes are coming soon for our returning innovators! 🙌

We were absolutely blown away by how fast our first round of coding classes filled up, so our awesome new Program Director, Breckyn, got straight to work! We are officially opening up ROUND TWO for our three most popular coding sessions! 🚀💻

If you missed out the first time, this is your second chance to claim a spot, but act fast, because these are strictly limited to just 8 signups per class again to ensure quality hands-on time!

Here is the brand-new lineup of dates:

📅 THURSDAY, JUNE 25th
🌱 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Little Bytes, Big Ideas! (Ages 5–7) • Level 1
Our youngest creators will dive back into Scratch Jr.'s colorful block coding to bring stories and animations to life. The perfect, playful introduction to logic and tech!

🎮 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Scratch Masters (Ages 8–11) • Level 1
Ready to truly master the fundamentals? Students will dive deep into the Scratch platform, learning block manipulation and foundational logic to command their code with confidence.

📅 FRIDAY, JUNE 26th
🐍 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Python Pioneers (Ages 12+) • Level 1
Ready to graduate from blocks to real-world text? Teens and tweens will start writing clean script in Python, one of the world's most powerful coding languages.

👀 NOTICE SOMETHING NEW?
Yes, you read that right... these are now officially marked as "Level 1."
Why? Because even more is coming down the pipeline soon! 😉 Leveling up your STEM skills is just getting started here at STEM Harvest.

Don’t miss the boat a second time, grab your child's free spot right now!

👉 Register for Round 2 Here: https://stemharvest.org/event-sign-up/

06/08/2026

🎉 OH MY GOODNESS... WE ARE TOTALLY SPEECHLESS! 🎉

Hold onto your keyboards, because you all have officially FILLED UP all three of our Wednesday coding classes! 🤯💻

Little Bytes, Big Ideas!, Scratch Masters, and Python Pioneers are now 100% full. We are overflowing with gratitude for this incredible community, thank you all so much for your mind-blowing support! Our team (and our new Program Director, Breckyn!) cannot wait to code with your amazing kids.

🛠️ BUT THE MAYHEM ISN'T OVER YET! 🛠️

Because our engineering class has a larger capacity, we still have a few select spots left for:

🚀 Maker Mayhem: Launching Ideas (Ages 8+)
📅 Tuesday, June 23rd | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Think 3D modeling, kit cards, and building custom catapults!

Since our coding sessions reached capacity in the blink of an eye, these final engineering spots are definitely going to go quickly. If your kiddo wants to build, test, and launch things into the air, this is your absolute last chance to claim a spot for this June action!

👉 Claim one of the final Maker Mayhem spots here: https://stemharvest.org/event-sign-up/

👀 Missed out on coding? KEEP YOUR EYES GLUED TO OUR SOCIALS!
With demand this high, you better believe we are already cooking up more epic STEM adventures behind the scenes. Make sure you have our post notifications turned ON so you can be the first to know when our next lineup drops!

Thank you all again, you rock! 🙌❤️

06/03/2026

💥 WOW. JUST WOW! 💥

We knew our community loved tech, but you all blew us away! Our Python Pioneers class (Ages 12+) officially FILLED UP IN JUST 4 HOURS! 🤯🐍

We are absolutely speechless and so incredibly grateful for your amazing support. Our new Program Director, Breckyn, is already working hard behind the scenes to make sure this class is an unforgettable experience for our older students!

⚠️ BUT WAIT—DON'T MISS OUT ON THE REST OF THE HARVEST! ⚠️

With Python completely booked, parents are moving fast to grab the remaining spots in our other three epic sessions. Remember, our coding classes are strictly capped at just 8 signups for maximum hands-on attention, and our Tuesday maker event is filling up fast!

Here is what is left (for now!):

🌱 Little Bytes, Big Ideas! (Ages 5–7) | Wed, June 17 @ 1:00 PM – Spots running low!
🎮 Scratch Masters (Ages 8–11) | Wed, June 17 @ 2:30 PM – Filling up fast!
🛠️ Maker Mayhem: Launching Ideas (Ages 8+) | Tue, June 23 @ 10:00 AM – Limited availability!

If you've been waiting to click register, this is your sign to run, don't walk! Secure your child’s spot before the entire June lineup is completely sold out! 👋💻🚀

🔗 https://stemharvest.org/event-sign-up/

06/03/2026

If you had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Dominic Benford at the Hays Science Fest (last month), you would have heard all about this project! 🔭 Dr. Benford is the Program Scientist for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Soon.

Later this year, our next space telescope will launch into orbit. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will capture both the big picture and the finer details of the cosmos—observing distant celestial bodies with a field of view at least 100 times wider than Hubble’s.

Get the details on Roman and its mission: https://go.nasa.gov/4x5yDID

Add Roman to your phone—download this free poster: https://go.nasa.gov/4v4CfJH

06/03/2026

🎉 YOU ASKED, WE DELIVERED! 🎉 (Did we mention... it's all FREE 😉)

You wanted more high-energy STEM action, and we are harvesting a bumper crop of brand-new tech adventures this June! We aren't announcing just one... but FOUR incredible new classes designed to get your kids coding, creating, and launching! 🚀💻

🚨 WARNING: Spots are extremely limited! We are keeping our coding classes ultra-small to give everyone hands-on attention, meaning seats will vanish fast.

Check out our epic lineup and grab your spot before they're gone! 👇

📅 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17th: THE CODING HARVEST
⚠️ Strictly limited to 8 signups per class! ⚠️

🌱 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Little Bytes, Big Ideas! (Ages 5–7)
Budding coders will take their first steps into the digital world by bringing their biggest ideas to life! Using Scratch Jr.'s colorful, visual building blocks, your little ones will learn the basics of logic while creating their very own interactive stories and animations. It’s the perfect, playful introduction to the superpower of coding!

🎮 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Scratch Masters (Ages 8–11)
Ready to master the fundamentals of coding? In this skill-building session, students will dive deep into the Scratch platform, learning how to manipulate blocks, understand foundational logic, and command their code with confidence. It's the ultimate toolkit for any young programmer looking to unlock the true potential of Scratch!

🐍 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Python Pioneers (Ages 12+)
Step into the world of real-world programming by exploring Python, one of the most popular and powerful coding languages on the planet. Teens and tweens will transition from block coding to text-based script, learning how to write clean code and build foundational software skills. Join us to start paving your path as a future tech pioneer!

📅 TUESDAY, JUNE 23rd: THE MAKER HARVEST
🛠️ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Maker Mayhem: Launching Ideas (Ages 8+)
⚠️ Only 16 signups available! ⚠️
Get ready for a fast-paced, hands-on engineering adventure across three exciting creation stations! Kids will dive into the basics of 3D modeling, assemble intricate kit cards, and build custom catapults to test out real physics in action. It’s a morning of non-stop innovation, building, and—of course—launching things into the air!

✨ Don't wait for these seats to disappear! Click the link below to register your future innovator today!

🔗 https://stemharvest.org/event-sign-up/

06/02/2026

🌟 BIG NEWS AT STEM HARVEST! 🌟

We are absolutely thrilled to grow our team and officially introduce a true rockstar as our brand-new STEM Harvest Program Director... meet Breckyn! 🚀✨

Breckyn brings an incredible amount of energy, passion, and expertise to our community. She is completely dedicated to making STEM exciting, accessible, and deeply engaging for our future innovators. We know our students and families are going to absolutely love working with her!

👇 Get to know a bit more about Breckyn below: 👇

Breckyn Wahlmeier is going to be a sophomore at Kansas State University studying Computer Science. She is involved in several computer science organizations and loves attending K-State Football games with her friends. Outside of school, she enjoys swimming, playing instruments, and spending time with her nieces and nephews!

With Breckyn at the helm, we have some massive things cooking up behind the scenes. We’re talking new classes, hands-on workshops, and tech adventures you won't want to miss. 😉

Trust us, you’ll want to keep your eyes glued to our socials over the next few days—we have a bumper crop of exciting announcements dropping very, very soon! 🌾💻🛠️

Welcome to the team, Breckyn! We are so lucky to have you leading the way! 🥳🎉

06/02/2026

Yup, still going!!! The balloon is currently in Wisconsin after successfully traveling around the globe!

https://stemharvest.org/balloon-launch/

05/29/2026

The balloon, W0RBO-12, launched in the first few days of May from Hays, KS has officially made it around the globe!

How far will it go?!?!

https://stemharvest.org/balloon-launch/

Ellis County Ham Operators Club (ECHO)

05/27/2026

🎈 W0RBO-12... Yup, it's still going! 👀
The balloon launched from Hays, KS at the beginning of May has now been in flight for over 3 weeks!!! Absolutely incredible!
Want to follow along? Go to the STEM Harvest website (below) and go to the APRS or the Sondehub link for 12. The first picture is the current position with the last 7 days. The second picture is the complete flight path thus far.

The next question is "Will it make it back to the US?!?!"

https://stemharvest.org/balloon-launch/

Ellis County Ham Operators Club (ECHO)