Recapping STEAM Fest 2025: A Community Ignited by Curiosity!

Wow, what an incredible journey STEAM Fest 2025 has been! As the founder of STEAMventure Inc., my heart is absolutely bursting after wrapping up our second annual Homeschool STEAM Fest, as part of Suncoast Remake Learning Days. Our mission has always been to spark joy and curiosity, making STEAM accessible and exciting for every child and family. And this year? We didn't just spark – we ignited a true community flame!

Looking back, it's truly astounding to see how much we've grown in just our second year. What started as a vision to bring hands-on, engaging STEAM experiences to local families has blossomed into a vibrant, multi-location festival, thanks to the incredible enthusiasm of our community. We set out to be more than just an event; we aimed to be a catalyst. And that's exactly what happened!

STEAM FEST 2025 Attendance

140 + Fammilies, 215+ Kids, TOTAL 466+ people

Participant Feedback

Outcomes

Partnerships

Our events became those magical spaces where families, often new to the homeschooling journey or simply looking for ways to enrich their children's learning, found their tribe. They discovered a welcoming community eager to explore, create, and learn together.

The buzz was truly contagious, as we brought people together around shared interests. I heard so many stories of parents connecting over shared experiences, or kids collaborating on a fun challenge, realizing they weren't alone on their STEAM adventure. This kind of community building is at the very heart of what we do. Our events have been a launchpad for families to jump headfirst into STEAM education, finding not just activities but also invaluable support networks within our local communities.

This year's STEAM Fest was truly a testament to the power of partnership, spanning across four dynamic locations – each bringing its own unique flavor of fun! From The Nest at Robinson Preserve on April 19th, to sharing at our STEAM Learning Center on April 27th, then Curious & Kind Education on May 1st, and our fantastic finale at the Lakewood Ranch Library on May 3rd, the energy was electric. We saw incredible collaborations that wouldn't have been possible without our dedicated educational participants: Curious & Kind Education (forest school), SCF Innovation Lab, Team Ironic (those robots were a hit!), Manatee County Library, Kai’s Creative Coding (hello game design!), Spanish Legacy Academy (language immersion through play!), Nature and Nurture Enrichment, What I Learned Today (tutoring), Girls Scouts of Gulf Coast, Manatee County Natural Resources Department, and the invaluable Step Up For Students who helped families navigate scholarship opportunities.

Together we are better! STEAM on!

A special shout-out to Jessica and Just Focus Online Learning for making math challenges so much fun and including STEAM Fest on her Math Trail! And to FIRST Tech Challenge TEAM IRONIC of Manatee School for the Arts for making their robots the stars of the show. We couldn't have done it without you!

A great big THANK YOU to Luu Insurance for cheering us on and taking part this year! And we appreciate our friends at The Patterson Foundation and Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading for stopping by the Lakewood Ranch Library to share their "This Book Is Cool" Summer Reading Campaign with all of our families.

And let's not forget our amazing educational toy partners: Sphero, Learning Resources, hand2mind, and Educational Insights! Their continued support and exciting giveaway prizes added an extra layer of joy and allowed families to take the STEAM fun home with them. THANK YOU on behalf of the kids! The goal here is to one day get a STEAM toy in the hands of each and every kid attending. We're always dreaming up new partnerships here, so we're on our way...

Our events simply wouldn't have reached such heights without the generous and unwavering support from The Patterson Foundation. This year STEAM Fest was honored to participate with 4 out of the over 380 FREE hands-on learning events that engaged over 45,900 people in our local communities across Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, and Charlotte Counties through Suncoast Remake Learning Days. This is nothing short of incredible! Their belief in the power of learning and community made all of this possible!

The success of STEAM Fest 2025 truly underscores the strength of our community connections. From partners who graciously shared their wonderful space so we could host our STEAM Fest events, to our passionate educators and the enthusiastic families who showed up ready to learn – every piece of the puzzle came together to create something truly special!

It was epic, impactful, and filled with the kind of playful learning that warms an educator's heart. Over 140 families and countless kids joined us across our four STEAM events, exploring, creating, and getting inspired. The STEAM advocacy was strong, and we built robust partnerships, offering more access and broader opportunities for kids of all ages to experience learning through STEAM exploration this year.

I'm already buzzing with ideas for next year's Suncoast Remake Learning Days, and I can't wait until we do it again! In the meantime, keep an eye out for our return to the Lakewood Ranch Library on Wednesday, June 11th at 2 PM – mark your calendars, because you won't want to miss it and get your STEAM Fest tickets here!

Here's to a future full of curiosity, collaboration, and countless more STEAM-tastic adventures!