On July 16, STEM friends, partners, and community members gathered in Cedar Rapids for the yearly Community STEM Day, hosted by the Southeast Iowa STEM Region and Collins Aerospace. As before, the day featured a giant tent with farmer's market-style STEM fun, in-depth workshops, exclusive lab tours, food trucks, and more.

We'll let the numbers tell the story of the day:

• 95 exhibitors offering engaging, hands-on STEM fun for attendees.
• 200 volunteers from Collins Aerospace, who made the day possible.
• 18 food trucks keeping everyone fed, hydrated, and caffeinated.
• 3 helicopters that landed at the fest to give attendees up-close looks at an air-ambulance, as well as Chinook and Blackhawk military aircraft.
• 5,000+ attendees, making this year's event the biggest one yet.
• 9 in-depth workshops providing STEM learners a dive into a variety of topics.
• 6 exclusive lab tours of the behind-the-scenes innovation happening at Collins Aerospace.
• 15 bikes built by Pedal Power workshop participants and donated to the Start School Right Program.
• 4,200 pairs of sunglasses and 4,000 mini bottles of sunscreen distributed to help attendees battle the hot and sunny day.

Despite the heat, and a little bit of rain at the end, the event was another reminder of the amazing network of STEM champions throughout the Southeast Iowa STEM Region and across the state. Thank you to our volunteers, exhibitors, and amazing participants of all ages for proving once more that tomorrow truly does STEM from Iowa.