Robots created by students from 21 Indiana schools competed for objects on a simulated planet, bying for the inaugural Rover League Championship on the IU Kokomo campus. Approximately 200 students grade 7 - 12 designed, built, progrmmed and oprerated robots tocompete in the Rover Ruckus simulated planet exploration.  The tournament provides students thte oopportunity to how their technical skills, and encourage students inclined towards STEM field.s

The IU Kokomo School of Education and the School of Sciences partnered to bring STEM acivities to students from Elwood Haynes Elementry and Boulevard STEM Elementary Schools. Funded by a $20K Duke Energy grant, this program on the IU Kokomo campus served 244 students with 188 adults also in attendance.

The purpose of the event was to engage students and families in hands-on, fun learning activities in the STEM disciplines.

The Design Center partnered with Carroll Consolidated School Corporation (CCSC) to create business identity collateral materials (brochure, flyer and mailer) along with logo development and two promotional videos for the elementary and middle/high school respectively. The town of Flora is repainting its water tower with the new CCSC created for this project.

Led by Michael Koerner, assistant professor of new media communication the IU Kokomo Design Center class functions as a professional design center, where students have the opportunity to gain real-life experience while offering services free to not-for-profit organizations throughout the north-central Indiana region. Working with  community clients pushes students' portfolios from a hypothetical situation to working with real people and their needs and expectations.

The program is designed to develop awareness and facilitate the transition of high school students with disabilities into postsecondary education, to increase the success rate and retention of freshman students with disabilities at Indiana University Kokomo, and to improve career counseling and job placement services for students with disabilities.

Guest speakers address topics related to accessibility. The Luncheon is attended by school counselors, special education teachers, general education teacher, school administrators, and other education professionals. For the last two years, we have opened this luncheon to include parents and potential students.

For several years the IU Kokomo Observatory has hosted thousands of visitors. Activities vary depending upon age group, time of day, etc. For example, during night time visits, we observe whatever is up that night. We always hope vistors can see the Moon. For daytime visits for P-12 students we observe the Sun with a solar filter on the Takahashi telescope which allows them to see sunspots and also use a hydrogen-alpha solar telescope that shows active regions on the Sun.

The goal is to increase student interest in STEM education and the potential that IUK has to offer them.

The IU Kokomo Career and Accessibility Center has created career readiness units for grades K-2, 3 -5, 6-8, and 9-12 that target appropriate Indiana School Counseling Competencies and American School Counselor Association National Standards. Each unit consists of 5 lessons. The program was piloted in Fall 2018 by Western School Corporation at Western Middle School. IU Kokomo career services staff went into the Family and Consumer Science classroom and implemented the lessons with two classes.  The 6-8 grade units have been successfully completed three times during the 2018-19 academic year, serving 150 students.

The Passport to College program is designed to help reinforce good college-going behaviors starting in the 7th grade through the 12th grade, without adding more burden on classroom teachers, via a series of activities that the student completes each year.  Most activities are ones that are already measured by teachers and/or school counselors; now we are proposing putting them under a “college umbrella” to increase student and parent awareness of the possibility of pursuing post-secondary education.

Indiana University Kokomo began visiting school superintendents during the spring semester 2019 to introduce the program.  Our goal was to have at least five school corporations agree to pilot the program starting when school reconvenes for the 2019-20 academic year. We are currently piloting the program with the incoming 2019-2020 7th grade students in 10 schools in the north-central Indiana region.

For each student who successfully completes the Passport to College activities, is admissible to IU Kokomo and chooses to come to our campus, we will provide a $1000 scholarship to that student ($250/year for 4 years as long as the student remains in good academic standing).