Prairie State Wire

As the new school year begins, STEAM educators and students in Illinois are encouraged to focus on student-led projects and the creative processes behind them. The latest STEAM Newsletter highlights activities from the recent Illinois State Fair, including a 3D Mini butter cow designed by students at the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) booth and interactive exhibits such as 'My IL AG Charm' at Illinois Ag in the Classroom.

The newsletter outlines a shift in emphasis for this academic year, with more attention given to experimentation, problem-solving, and the passion that drives STEAM learning. Educators and students are invited to submit their ongoing projects through DoIT’s STEAM Project Spotlight for potential inclusion in future editions.

Several educational activities suitable for different grade levels are recommended, such as building ball launchers, constructing simple drones, and engaging in engineering challenges. The newsletter also shares recent research developments from universities across Illinois. For example, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed new methods for testing AI safety protocols intended to prevent large language models from responding to harmful queries. However, users can sometimes bypass these safeguards using so-called “jailbreaks” (University of Illinois Urbana Champaign News Bureau).

At the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago, scientists are exploring bio-inspired membrane designs that could improve water purification technologies (Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering | The University of Chicago). Meanwhile, a professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is working on converting agricultural waste into materials that capture carbon dioxide efficiently—a project supported by a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship (Southern Illinois University Carbondale).

Upcoming events include ideaU’s September series on AI in education; S.T.E.A.M Saturdays hosted by Abraham Lincoln Council with hands-on robotics activities; workshops on computer science featuring Finch Robot 2.0; discussions about data governance and SOPPA compliance; sessions introducing AI tools for classrooms; educator-focused 3D printing workshops; ENTICE Education Workshops about local ecosystems; Northern Illinois University's STEM Fest with over 100 exhibits; an open house at the College of Veterinary Medicine at UIUC; professional development conferences by IEA; and Learning Technology Center’s IETC conference focusing on technology integration strategies.

The newsletter provides links to resources supporting both classroom instruction and professional development—including Shedd Aquarium Educator Resources, ISU's Smart Grid curriculum, Green Our Planet’s school garden program, PLTW’s career readiness curriculum, Lumity's nonprofit work in STEM education for Chicagoland students (Lumity), and programs offered by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (Illinois Science & Technology Coalition).

A section dedicated to art within STEAM discusses how creativity intersects with scientific inquiry—highlighting perspectives from Smithsonian Magazine about Leonardo da Vinci's approach blending artistic imagination with scientific exploration.

The newsletter concludes with a reminder that all external links provided serve educational purposes only without implying endorsement or responsibility by DoIT or the State of Illinois.