What’s Coming Up Next!
3, 2, 1….Blast-off!! We’re building and launching rockets on April 26th from 1:00 to 3:00 at the National Cave & Karst Research Institute! This workshop is for kids ages 7-12 and their grown-ups. The cost is $20.
Registration will open April 13th on this website.
Summer STEM Camp ’25 will be June 2nd-5th!
Location will be Southeast New Mexico College.
Open to kids ages 7-12. Cost is $65.
Registration will open May 1st on this website!
Inspired by Science Named Non-Profit of the Year
Inspired by Science was honored as “Non-Profit of the Year” at the 2024 New Mexico Excellence in STEM Awards, commonly called “the STEMYS.” The STEMYS, which are hosted by the Air Force Research Lab Tech Engagement Office and Q Station, was presented at a formal ceremony in Albuquerque on June 21, 2024.
“Kids love science, and we love opening their eyes to new possibilities,” says Inspired by Science’s President Deena Antiporda. “We are incredibly honored to accept this award and thank all of our supporters and volunteers for making Inspired by Science’s work possible!”
Inspired by Science was established in 2013 by Antiporda, her husband and children out of their kitchen, which continues to serve as a laboratory from time to time. It’s first event was a summer camp at what is now Southeast New Mexico College, which has continued to this day. Today, Inspired by Science also offers workshops and events throughout the year, held at the National Cave and Karst Research Institute and the Carlsbad Public Library. The cost to participate in its events is low thanks to grants and donations.
“Engaging kids with fun, hands-on projects has been our winning formula. Our goal has been to make STEM education accessible to all students.”
Inspired by Science achieved 501c3 status in 2020 and is governed by a Board of Directors. One of the organization’s near-term goals is to identify a location to expand its operations and possibly offer on-site workshops.
Recent STEM Events
Dragster Race Workshop
Wooden blocks were sanded and shaved into perfectly designed dragsters. Teams then competed against each other to be the fastest! Dragsters were launched by means of an air pump and air-powered launcher. Newton’s Third Law of Motion was demonstrated as the dragsters went further with more pressurized air.
Drone Flight Workshop
This workshop was for building and flying drones. Kids and their grown-ups could customize their drone and attempt our Challenge Course! ConocoPhillips aslo spent some time showing a real drone that is used in the field to make a real-world connection.
National STEM Day
November 8th is National STEM Day! We celebrated at the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center with Edgewater Federal Solutions, Los Alamos Technical Associates, and SIMCO. There were educational booths with hands-on activities for families to enjoy.
STEM Fun Day
There were lots of fun STEM activities for families to enjoy, including Legos, robotics, and Snap Circuits. Kids could move from activity to activity and learn various STEM concepts. It was so nice to see so many families enjoying time together! We appreciate SENMC HSI Grant Services for sponsoring the event and the Carlsbad Public Library for providing a safe place to play!
National STEM Day at CEMRC
We got to celebrate National STEM Day at the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center here in Carlsbad! SIMCO, Edgewater Federal Solutions, and Los Alamos Technical Associates joined us in setting up booths with fun STEM activities for the families to enjoy. Dr. Lambis Papelis, Director of CEMRC, led tours of the facility. We appreciate the wonderful staff at CEMRC and all who participated in this fun event!
Energy Workshop
Our Energy Workshop included three projects: catapults, air-powered dragsters, and balloon cars. They were all designed to help kids learn about potential energy (stored energy–think about a stretched rubber band) and kinetic energy (energy of motion–what happens to that rubber band when you let go?).
The STEM Experience
People of all ages had a lot of STEM to choose from during our first STEM Experience event! STEM-based organizations and companies brought out fun activities and demonstrations such as the squeeze box simulating a cave, owl pellets for dissecting, Ozobots on Mars missions, robotics and drones, plus many more.
Inspired by Science Camp ’24–Artesia
We got to spend three afternoons doing hands-on activities with Artesia students. This will be our 3rd year doing a camp in Artesia. It is completely funded by the PY Foundation and held in the Bulldog Training Center inside the Artesia Public Schools Admin Building. We many of the same activities that were completed during our Carlsbad camp. The young scientists and engineers were very creative with their projects!
Inspired by Science Camp ’24
Our big annual summer camp since 2014! We hosted 100 campers on the campus of Southeast New Mexico College June 3rd-6th for lots of STEM fun! We experimented with electric racers, hoop gliders, brush bots, elephant toothpaste, Sharpie tie dye shirts, among other things. We also set up a Glow Lab for the campers! Inside, they made glow-in-the-dark slime, key chains, glow tubes, and wrote with invisible ink pens. They also got to see some rocks that fluoresce under black lights. National Cave and Karst Research Institute provided activities related to caving during one of the evenings for our campers and families to enjoy. Camp week ended with a Family STEM Night that featured many area businesses who brought along activities for families. We also had our Glow Lab in operation. It was a great week as always!
Community Lab Partners
Kids need hands-on STEM education more than ever. Our mission is to provide that opportunity to as many kids as possible. We depend on donations for Inspired by Science to be successful! All donors are what we call our Community Lab Partners. Click here to see the full Community Lab Partner List which includes many local individuals, businesses, and organizations who support our effort to promote science among elementary school aged young scientists! Want to help? Donate today to become one of our Community Lab Partners!
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About our events: Any reference to camps on our site refers to multi-session youth programs that may be at a community location or hosted virtually on our Web site. Inspired by Science does not host overnight events.