MTSU students and faculty once again are participating in the fifth annual Tennessee STEAM Festival ending Saturday, Oct. 23.

The Tennessee STEAM Festival brings science, technology, engineering, art and math to life at events across the state, and MTSU plays a vital role. Festival events are hosted by a wide range of museums, schools, community centers and other attractions. A complete listing of activities is available at TNsteam.org.

Students learned how to play musical instruments during the fourth annual Tennessee STEAM Festival in 2020. MTSU faculty and staff are again involved in events this year. The festival ends Saturday, Oct. 23, at the Discovery Center at Murfreesboro Spring. Admission to the outdoor STEAM-a-Palooza is free, but admission to go inside the Discovery Center will be half-rice from 1 to 5 p.m. (Submitted photo by Tennessee STEAM Festival)

Dr. Greg Van Patten

“I’m really proud our students and faculty are participating, bringing science, engineering, math, technology and the arts together to highlight all of these areas and share them with the community,” said Greg Van Patten, interim dean for the College of Basic and Applied Sciences.

Biology professor Kim Sadler offers a virtual “Trees are Terrific” — a tour of the university’s arboretum. Trees are the largest organisms people will encounter in their lifetime. Visit campus in the fall to view native Tennessee trees, with one exception, the Ginkgo. Copies of the native tree map are available in the Science Building atrium, Keathley University Center information desk and Cope Administration Building foyer.

The festival ends Saturday with Steam-a-Palooza events at the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, which founded the event in 2017.

The MTSU participants at STEAM-a-Palooza, which is outdoors and free to the public from 1 to 5 p.m., include:

• Robin Bollman with MTeach providing “Full STEAM Ahead for Your Health.” Learn how math, science and agriculture are related to your well-being. MTeach prepares math and science teachers for K-12 careers.

• Mandy Singleton with the Tennessee STEM Education Center, bringing “Marsh Launch: How Far Will It Fly?” All ages welcome to participate in creating a catapult, launching marshmallows and exploring engineering and math in fun ways. Singleton also led the “Sirius STEM Sessions” earlier in the week.

• MTSU biology student Khadijah Alnassari, who is with the new Al-Wahda United Muslim Association, in a science and art event involving face painting, engineered robotic art canvas painting and more.

• Chemistry professor Preston MacDougall leads a College of Basic and Applied Sciences “Hands-on Green Chemistry” option. The MTSU Chemistry Society will emphasize the importance of green chemistry — and involves making ice cream.

• MacDougall, whose wife, Tara MacDougall, is the award-winning Discovery Center director, helps attendees “Discover Chemistry at MTSU,” with the help of students and faculty. This session includes hands-on chemistry and details about MTSU’s Science Building.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)