This month, we turn our STEM spotlight on the Iowa Children's Museum (ICM), Iowa’s longest-running children’s museum. Housed in Coralville, the 28,000-square-foot ICM celebrates STEM in many ways throughout the year, from welcoming more than 13,000 guests with hands-on exhibits to offering outreach programs throughout the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City corridor and more.

The ICM is committed to offering STEM programs to people across the corridor with ongoing STEM Family Free Night, which takes place the last Friday of every month from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. During these events, admission to anyone, regardless of barriers, is free. The ICM also strives to make STEM an accessible topic by offering hands-on exploration opportunities during those events.

Those who can't make it to the museum can check out the ICM throughout the corridor, where the museum extends STEM opportunities through continued offsite outreach efforts. During the winter/early spring 2026, with the help of funding from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium, the ICM visited six rural libraries to bring space-themed STEM activities to increase awareness about the Artemis mission. The museum will also offer free community outreach programs throughout the summer. (Follow the link below for specific locations/events.)

The ICM has also been a longtime partner of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council by participating in various events, including Community STEM Day and the Iowa STEM Scale-Up Program. The STEM Scale-Up program has allowed The ICM to expand the STEM topics they offer inside and outside of museum walls.

"STEM is everywhere, and being a non-profit organization, Scale-Up has allowed our programming to remain relevant, expansive, and approachable," says Rebekah Domayer, STEM education manager for the ICM.

Through their many efforts onsite and off, Domayer says the museum remains steadfast in its mission to help every child discover and explore.

"The ICM's mission is for every child to imagine, create, discover, and explore through the power of play," says Domayer. "STEM's core tenets are rooted in discovery, exploration, and curiosity, and the ICM believes that STEM programming is a vehicle to foster curiosity in our youth. We see it every day in our exhibits or out in our community. STEM is everywhere and we believe the ICM helps our next generation know how to look for it."