More than 1,000 schoolchildren to visit UMaine for two events Oct. 9

More than 1,000 elementary and middle school age students from around the state will be at the University of Maine Oct. 9 to attend two daylong events — Expanding Your Horizons, and the Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival.

Expanding Your Horizons, an event hosted by UMaine for more than a decade, facilitates connections between middle school girls and professional women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to provide accessible role models and to generate interest in STEM careers through high-quality, hands-on activities.

Considered a global gateway to STEM fields, the Expanding Your Horizons network supports conferences at more than 100 sites worldwide that engage approximately 24,000 girls each year. At UMaine, concurrent workshops will be occurring for participants throughout the day, most led by UMaine faculty and students.

The biennial Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival promotes active learning about water issues to teach students the value of clean water and healthy habitats, and to provide teachers with relevant classroom resources that support evidence-based instruction.

Over 600 fourth, fifth and sixth graders and their teachers will attend this collaborative event, which will be held in Bennett Hall, the New Balance Field House and other campus locations. Participants will be able to interact with scientists, environmental champions, water professionals and local celebrities working to highlight issues such as water quality, conservation, vernal pools, the water cycle, wastewater treatment and more.

UMaine’s 2018 Expanding Your Horizons conference receives support from University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Girl Scouts of Maine and the Maine Science Festival. The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions is hosting the 2018 Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival with support from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and other public and private stakeholders and partners.  

Attendees at both conferences will travel from 11 of Maine’s 16 counties to engage with UMaine faculty, staff and graduate students, and other invited presenters through interactive workshops and experiments designed to spark interest in science and math, and sustaining Maine’s water resources.

For more information about these events, which are at capacity: UMaine Rising Tide Center for Expanding Your Horizons, 207.581.3434; UMaine Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions for the Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival, 207.581.3196.

Contact: Expanding Your Horizons — Susan Gardner, 207.907.0845; Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival — Ruth Hallsworth, 207.356.4828; Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745