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Bringing free STEM learning to the Eastern Oregon counties of Union, Morrow, Umatilla, Grant, Wallowa, Baker, and Harney.
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11/10/2026

GO STEM visited Greenwood Elementary School in La Grande, Oregon last week, where students of different grade levels participated in a variety of experiences.

When GO STEM plans a visit to a school, educators of that school view our curricular menu ahead of time, and then we deliver the specific learning experience they have requested. In this way, our Mobile Maker Lab team is able to bring the experiences our community requests and desires, directly to who we serve.

At Greenwood, fourth grade students participated in our Aerospace Engineering Lab. To kick off the Lab, students were able to build a rocket body with a nose cone, to try launching. This activity gave them the excitement of a rocket launch, but they did not yet have the wisdom and understanding of how the rocket fins create stability and direction for the rocket! Without the fins, students quickly discovered that their rockets tumbled in the air in an unpredictable way. After returning to the classroom and adding the fins, students were blown away at how this changed the flight: their rockets went farther, straighter, and flew through the air in a predictable way.

Students were so excited at the distance they saw their rockets go!! It was also very rewarding for them to see the connection of how the four forces of flight work together and make a rocket soar.

You can view our full curricular menu here and visit a free visit to your community site or school: https://go-stem.org/?page_id=5604

You can view our K-5 Aerospace Lesson Plan here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OgWscCLhTTouhSIC20FcCbYEkOmyW5KX/view

11/09/2026

Autos manufactured in the last decade have incorporated multiple systems that depend on Bluetooth, WiFi, or satellite connections. GPS and satellite connections control maps, emergency notifications, entertainment sources, and personal communications. Parking systems, collision control, and traffic lights are also communicating to control the vehicle to override mechanical control when necessary. All these systems run on software that either the manufacturer provides or that third-party entities supply when any accessory is added. Since the car’s systems can be accessed through a variety of portals outside the vehicle, software is vulnerable to “attack” or to harmful unexpected interactions between systems. Imagine driving along and your car brakes unexpectedly or accelerates at an inappropriate time. Researchers are trying to get ahead of these issues by making recommendations about how to harden software to delimit access to driving systems from external communications. This will require a more careful design process in the manufacture of vehicles.

Learn more at: https://www.sciencealert.com/your-cars-biggest-security-weakness-could-be-somewhere-unexpected

11/09/2026

This past month, GO STEM's Advisory Board met in-person at Eastern Oregon University for a day of discussion and strategic planning with GO STEM staff. Our Advisory Board is comprised of industry and educational leaders from across Eastern Oregon, whose expertise and insight guides our work as an organization.

We are also actively seeking new Advisory Board members to join the team. If you are interested, please email our Executive Director, David Melville, at: [email protected] for more information.

11/07/2026

📢 Attention Oregon School Leaders and Educators: FREE Chemistry Learning Opportunity, Presented & Led by University of Oregon Chemistry Club Students! (Please share this widely!)

Chemistry Student-Led Remote Panel and Demonstration

Schools statewide are invited to partner with the University of Oregon undergraduate Chemistry Club (Chem Club) for activities geared toward:

1) Informing your students about pathways to higher education in STEM, and

2) Facilitating your students’ exploration of chemistry through a guided demonstration in which they will test local water for fluoride.

We are gauging interest in three activities, of which you may choose any number:
· A remote panel where your students can interact with current UO chemistry undergraduate students and hear about their journeys to the university and the field of chemistry
· An undergraduate-led recorded video demonstration of fluoride testing using a detector constructed from a cell phone, and materials and instructions to perform it in your classroom
· An undergraduate-led live Zoom demonstration of fluoride testing, and materials and instructions to perform it in your classroom

All specialized materials required for the activity will be shipped to your school free of charge. The panel and activity can be tailored to different age groups.

Our Chem Club members are eager to share their enthusiasm for chemistry with your students! If you are interested in any of these activities, please fill out the short form at the QR code or link here: https://forms.gle/zf1bxoHZM6CMD2Aw7

Questions can be sent to [email protected]

11/04/2026

During our visit to Athena, Oregon, in Umatilla County, GO STEM spent time with sophomore through senior grades at Weston-McEwen High School. Students explored the engineering process while trying to help a sea turtle gain a life of normalcy, via GO STEM's Biomedical Engineering Lab.

When they first started ideating solutions, students found more questions than they had anticipated. Those questions allowed for more understanding, and more learning, that then enabled them to go back and rebuild or modify their designs. Questions about resistance, floating, friction, and weight all played into problem-solving, while creating a workable prosthetic.

After helping a sea turtle, a one-legged baby chick needed help, too! Balance and support became additional issues for them to address in order to help this animal. With the added tool of 3D pens, highschoolers were able to ideate, design, and make way for another usable prosthetic.

Thank you, Weston McEwen High School for inviting us to visit! GO STEM educator Kendra also shared that, "These students were highly engaged learners that utilized the time and resources we brought. It was a pleasure to work together with their school and make this free opportunity possible."

To view GO STEM's Biomedical Engineering Lab Lesson Plan, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wHd-LqAe6qwg0F1n3vYtdcNXOr6rKVSH/view

To view GO STEM's Lab menu and schedule a FREE visit to your school, click here: https://go-stem.org/?page_id=5604

11/04/2026

Recently, a popular word game became the subject of a class on information theory. The professor challenged the students to find an application for the Shannon Entropy theory, a method of using useful information to reduce the effort in looking for an answer. This opposes the “brut force” method that attempts to find the answer through multiple, random trials. The method that the students developed to win the Wordle game was to select words that would provide the most information possible on each guess rather than trying to initially find the correct answer. With strategic selection of three words, for example, 15 letters of the alphabet can be eliminated or identified as part of the hidden word. It is at this point where there is enough known information to narrow down an answer.

The professor summed up the significance of thinking mathematically: “It transformed a static measurement (Shannon entropy) in a scientific domain into a dynamic solution that helps accomplish a popular task better.” In other words, mathematics is more than just learning proofs and theories; it can also be a problem-solving tool!

Learn more at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260911204910.htm

11/03/2026

An article about GO STEM's Mobile Maker Lab, housed at Eastern Oregon University, was recently featured by the Gray Family Foundation.

Thank you, Gray Family Foundation, for your continued encouragement and support of our work!

You can click here to read the article: https://www.grayff.org/our-impact/grantee-stories/greater-oregon-stem-hub-go-stem

11/03/2026

In one adventure, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet are hunting a woozle. They find tracks and follow them around and around, finally discovering that the tracks they are following are their own.

This phenomenon can be witnessed in scientific research where someone claims evidence and then others follow or report that evidence without confirming that the evidence is true.

An example of this is found in medicine. In 1980, a four-sentence letter was published by the New England Journal of Medicine that assured doctors that any narcotic administered by the hospital to reduce pain had a low probability of addiction. Without corroboration, the idea spread, and the proliferation of opioids was condoned as a common practice. It took solid research to ultimately quash this belief.

The woozle effect has become even more of an issue with the advent of the proliferation of all sorts of dubious claims leveled about any hot topic. The caution for anyone who is tempted to share data or findings is to check the sources first and see if there are really woozle footprints or just someone’s imagination.

Learn more at: https://psychotricks.com/woozle-effect/

11/03/2026

Last week, GO STEM visited Central Middle School in Milton-Freewater, Oregon and shared our Aerospace Engineering Lab with teachers and students there. In this lab, students were able to build and test their own rocket designs!

As part of GO STEM's Mobile Maker Lab visit, teachers receive "pre lab" teaching materials, which are lessons to teach before GO STEM visits. The pre-lab sets the stage for our visit and builds the prior knowledge necessary for students to participate in the STEM learning experience.

When GO STEM came to Central Middle School, 6th through 8th students used their pre-visit knowledge of the four forces of flight to think about other flying objects, and not just air planes. Before students built and tested their own rockets, they made predictions about why a flying object needed weight, and what kind of formula would make something airborne, and maintain balance.

Students then built a rocket with just a nose cone and body; this was to compare with their flight, after adding fins. The engineering process of design led to many unique-looking rockets. The fin number, placement, and size all created testable variables that led them to deeper understanding of the science concepts underlying the lab.

The last group of the day, sixth grade, had enough time to test a third time, and then make adjustments after observing the farthest flying rocket. There is a secret to flight, they discovered!!

A big thank you to the students and staff of Central Middle School for inviting us to your school!

To view GO STEM's Aerospace Engineering Lab for Middle School students, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CksYIlLT-V0oyPUVUvYi7utqohko_I-M/view

To view GO STEM's Lab menu and schedule a FREE visit to your school, click here: https://go-stem.org/?page_id=5604

11/02/2026

Researchers were trying to develop a fabric that a soldier could wear that would resist mosquito bites and yet be comfortable enough to wear with other gear like body armor. They developed a fabric, Plant Armor, that satisfied the objective and published a paper describing it in an agricultural journal. That article was picked up by crop production researchers who tested the cloth on strawberries. They expected that the shading feature of the cloth might restrict light and thus reduce strawberry production. Instead, yields increased by almost fourfold. This direct covering of the plants allows more heat and moisture to reach the plant so it may also decrease the irrigation demands. Most importantly, there was a sharp reduction in insect damage thus reducing the need for treatment with high doses of insecticides.

Learn more at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930020257.htm

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