MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University will participate in the ninth annual Tennessee STEAM Festival and the fourth annual Murfreesboro Airport STEAM Fest.

The Tennessee STEAM Festival takes place Oct. 10-26, with more than 300 events hosted at 80 venues across the state. Founded by the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring on Southeast Broad Street in Murfreesboro, the event highlights the connections between science, technology, engineering, art and math through interactive programs, cultural events and hands-on experiences designed for all ages.

Murfreesboro Airport’s STEAM Fest returns with a 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 14 art show featuring tail livery art by Murfreesboro City Schools’ students and a 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, event at Murfreesboro Airport, 1930 Memorial Blvd.

At the city event, among many activities, MTSU jet and piston engines will be on display, showing all the inner workings of the engines and to show off the aircraft that train future airline pilots and drone operators.

For the latest updated information on the Airport STEAM Festival, visit this website. 

MTSU events

MTSU will host two free Tennessee STEAM Festival events on campus:

• “Scopes at 100: What does history tell us about science and religion?” — 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, in Wiser-Patten Science Hall Room 102, located at 422 Old Main Circle.

The public lecture will feature Nicholas Spencer, a senior fellow at the Theos Think Tank in London, England. He is the author of numerous books, including “Darwin and God” and, most recently, “Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion.”

The event is sponsored by the Distinguished Lecture Fund, the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the Nashville Section of the American Chemical Society and the Tennessee Academy of Science.

• Observe the Sky — from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, at the MTSU Observatory, 422 Old Main Circle. For children, youth/teens, adults and families, the event — weather permitting — will feature multiple telescopes set up for viewing along with activities.

MTSU Early Learning Programs

The local early childhood community is hosting a free afternoon of play at the MTSU Tennessee Livestock Center, 1720 Greenland Drive, in Murfreesboro, from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12.

Families and children can engage in a variety of fun activities of their choice. Informational booths about all things early childhood provide families with resources to support them in raising healthy children. There will be STEAM activities for children and resources for families, plus food trucks.

The target audience is children, families and children/youth with special needs.

MTSU Art and Design

The MTSU Department of Art and Design will participate in Tri-Star Tennessee: Full Steam Ahead from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25-26 at 300 Doug Warpoole Road, in Smyrna.

It is a juried exhibition at Smyrna’s Hollingshead Aviation Gallery. The event connects art with STEM, highlighting how creative expression fuels innovation statewide, showcasing diverse media that explore Tennessee’s regional identity, cultural traditions and visions for a forward-moving future.

The event is intended for children to seniors and children/youth with special needs.

Pre-registration is recommended. RSVP form is available at https://www.jotform.com/build/251836485333159.

For more information, including the full event schedule, visit www.tnsteam.org.

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