About Us

NIU’s STEM Outreach delivers off-campus programs and on-campus activities designed to increase science, technology, engineering, and mathematics literacy and enthusiasm among
P-12 students, their families, and educators. Our office provides a central place to find information on the numerous outreach programs offered by NIU’s STEM departments and the colleges.

NIU has long been involved in public programs such as the very popular Haunted Physics Laboratory at Halloween, Davis Hall Observatory visits, chemistry demonstration shows, WYSE competitions, and the Frontier Physics Road Shows.  In 2008, NIU’s P-20 Task Force, which coordinates activities across the continuum from pre-school through graduate school, established STEM Outreach to increase the impact of the university’s diverse STEM programs for the public.

NIU STEM Outreach has four purposes:

1. Build interest and excitement about STEM at NIU through standards-based presentations at schools.
2. Provide opportunities for hands-on experiences with STEM subjects by conducting extra-curricular activities including clubs, competitions, and traveling hands-on museums.
3. Raise educational aspirations, knowledge of STEM, and interest in attending NIU by coordinating activities such as structured campus visits, special events, and summer camps at NIU’s campuses.
4. Improve teaching of STEM subjects by collaborating with teacher preparation and professional development activities in four NIU colleges.

Patricia Sievert,
STEM Outreach Coordinator

Over the past six years, STEM Outreach Coordinator Patricia Sievert has presented science and physics demonstrations to thousands of students at more than sixty schools across the region. She holds an M.S. in Physics Education and teacher certification from NIU and has taught at all levels from elementary to college. She is active in state and national science education organizations.  You can reach Patricia Sievert at 815-753-1201 or psievert@niu.edu. 

STEM Outreach in the News

STEM Outreach letter to educators