Innovation and education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) are highlighted in Illinois this February with a series of events and resources for students and educators.
National Engineers Week will take place from February 22-28, 2026. The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Chicago Professionals is organizing an Engineers Week Expo on February 28 at Lindblom High School in Chicago. The event aims to engage youth with hands-on learning activities, career exposure, and mentorship opportunities.
On the same day, the Society of Women Engineers will host “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The program provides students with interactive activities designed to expose them to engineering pathways and real-world STEAM applications.
Educators are also being recognized as the Illinois Digital Educators Alliance marks its 40th anniversary with IDEACon 2026. Scheduled for February 9-11 in Schaumburg, the conference features three days of discussions with thought leaders on current educational topics and innovative practices. The Illinois Century Network will participate at Booth #706 to support digital learning initiatives across the state.
Other notable events include the STEM Conference at Bradley University on February 4 for PreK-12 educators and administrators; STEAM Café at NIU exploring the physics behind Olympic sports; workshops at Kidzeum focused on STEAM center design funded by a National Science Foundation grant; ENTICE Education Workshops hosted by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources covering winter animal adaptations and white-tailed deer; Free Write sessions for educator development from the Illinois Resource Center; AI for Everyone workshop from Learning Technology Center; and the Central Illinois Regional FIRST Robotics Competition scheduled for March 18-21 in Peoria.
Recent news includes a report by Discovery Partners Institute and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that identifies gaps in computer science education access among rural and low-income districts: “A new report found that high school students in rural or town districts and districts with a high proportion of low-income students were the least likely to have computer science education opportunities. These districts were also the least likely to employ CS-endorsed teachers.”
At the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago, Peter Maurer discussed a recent scientific advancement: “What if we could precisely measure a cell at its most fundamental level? In this episode, we talk with the University of Chicago scientist Peter Maurer, who along with colleagues at UChicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, made the breakthrough discovery of turning a protein found in living cells into a first-of-its-kind biological quantum bit—also known as a qubit.”
Fermilab announced progress on an experiment involving dark matter detection: “A groundbreaking experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which will probe a narrow, previously unexplored region of mass where some scientists believe dark matter lurks, is one step closer to taking experimental data.”
Resources provided this month include lesson plans for K-12 students such as NASA Science for Kids’ explanation on space robotics for younger grades, electromagnetism projects from Science Buddies for middle schoolers, underwater remotely operated vehicle construction activities for high schoolers from Science Buddies, as well as Everfi’s STEM courses connecting classroom concepts to real-world challenges.
Additional programs highlighted include Learning Blade’s free engineering career exploration missions during National Engineering Week for grades 6-8; Homewood Science Center’s community engagement efforts aimed at increasing STEM literacy among south suburban students; and guidance on preserving video artworks using CRT technology from The Art Institute of Chicago.
The newsletter also emphasizes that any external links shared are strictly for educational purposes without endorsement by the State of Illinois or its Department of Innovation & Technology.
