7th Annual, for K-6 Families
Getting Ready for Curiosity Unleashed 2025:
Come join us! We’re looking for:
- STEAM Experts to lead activities
- General volunteers to help plan and prepare and/or help the day of
- Teachers to help spread the word among families and students
- Families – or anyone – to attend the day of
Curiosity Unleashed is for all Juneau K-6 families and will be held Monday, March 10, 2025 from 5:30-7:30 at TMMS. This annual event has become hugely successful and popular (nearly 800 attendees!) because of amazing local presenters whose enthusiasm is contagious and whose knowledge, creativity and experience are adored.
How it works: Children and families filter in and out of rooms and through activities led by community STEAM experts and enthusiasts. Ideal activities are easy to explain, interactive, and quick to enter into. Children typically spend 5-30 minutes at the stations they choose.
This year, in the spirit of scientific iteration and celebrating the next generation of STEAM enthusiasts, we are inviting everyone to join us in exploring the theme “Change Makers!” Change is a constant – whether intended or not. We hope this theme reminds and encourages adults to support children in being problem solvers – in both making and responding to change. We want to help children develop confidence in themselves as proactive doers and as they react to uncertainty and unpredictability with resourcefulness and curiosity.
- Can we create activities that allow/require multiple iterations to “solve” – or that have no clear “right” answer?
- Can we share examples of the uncertainty inherent in your STEAM field and how you, as an adult, respond?
- Can we create activities that encourage youth to see themselves as makers of and responders to change?
If you’re inspired to connect your activity to this theme in a big or small way, that’d be wonderful, but is absolutely not necessary.
If you have a general idea about an activity but don’t know how to make it work in this setting, or if you want to help but don’t know how, please reach out to us (via the form or email) and we’ll figure it out with you.
We love to brainstorm and would love to chat with you about “Change Makers” or any other aspects of an activity. We could:
- help you come up with or tweak an activity that matches your interests and children’s curiosity
- share some language that teachers use in encouraging children’s reflective thinking
- develop 1-2 curiosity-inducing questions for children about your specific activity
Ready to commit? Have some questions? Email us (juneausteamcoalition@gmail.com) directly and/or fill out this form (sooner is easier for us, but not essential.) As of Feb. 14, we still have space for 15-20 presenters; would you be one of them?!
Thank you for your time and support, we hope to see you at Curiosity Unleashed this year!
Reflections on Curiosity Unleashed 2024
The actual two hours of activities are over now and, by all measures, it was a great succeess! There were
- 51 different activities run by 70 presenters
- 396 children and 386 adults who came through the doors and engaged in activities
- 21 wonderful high school volunteers who set up, counted kids, go-fer’ed and assisted with activities
Best, though, were the faces and comments and questions and connections among children and families and presenters. The excitement and curiosity were palpable!
2024 Photos here.