Every year, IHADLA gathers all of our Dreamers, both elementary and middle school, together for one fun-filled day of informative speakers and hands-on activities at a local university. Each Dream Big Event is centered around a theme.

This year, IHADLA went to Cal State University Long Beach. Our theme was STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Dr. Beth Manke was the keynote speaker for the event, and kicked off the day with an interactive discussion on the various, and perhaps previously unknown, career possibilities for those Dreamers interested in pursuing STEM. Dr. Manke also detailed the various programs and degrees that CSULB offers.

Thanks to undergraduate student volunteers and their professors, our Dreamers were able to participate in a variety of activities, which included:

• Learning all about rockets, including the study of basic physics concepts. Dreamers were able to touch and observe various dismantled parts of miniature rockets and learn all about the computer programming that make a rocket launch possible.



• Exploring how infrastructures are built which included a special presentation by the mechanical engineering department. This included, much to our Dreamers’ excitement, the study of a giant roller coaster model (pictured above).
  

  

• Our middle school Dreamers were given the task of creating “the most stable structure possible” out of everyday household materials. This included an in-depth discussion of how shapes effect design (pictured above).

IHADLA would like to thank CSULB for a truly wonderful day featuring such a variety of activities and lessons. Both our elementary and middle school Dreamers left with a broader and more in-depth understanding of all that is STEM.

The annual IHADLA Dream Big event allows student Dreamers from different IHADLA programs to gather together. These two sets of student Dreamers have are pen pals.

Please check out additional pictures in our “Dream Big Event 2013!” photo set in the “Galleries” section of our website here.