Key Programs

IDX – Idaho Exhibition of Ideas

The goal of Idaho Exhibition of Ideas (IDX) is to equip students with the practical, technical, and creative skills needed to engage with real-world problems of today and tomorrow.

IDX is a multi-week, team-based digital design and fabrication competition where students learn and practice design, iteration and rapid prototyping skills with 3D printing technology. Student teams brainstorm, develop and prototype an idea for a solution that responds to a challenge theme and incorporates 3D design/printing in some way. IDX culminates in a regional Student Showcase, where teams will present their solution to a panel of judges and compete for prizes.

Chief Science Officer Program 

Chief Science Officers (CSOs) amplify student voice by bringing their peers and community leaders together to ignite new opportunities in STEM. CSOs are students in grades 6 through 12 who are either elected by their peers or selected by their teachers to be a liaison for STEM and innovation in their schools and community. The CSO program, developed by the Arizona SciTech Institute, is currently in 10 states and 4 countries.

STEM Discovery Professional Development Workshop

The one-day STEM Discovery Workshop introduces a comprehensive framework for developing high-quality, hands-on STEM learning activities for students that support classroom, school, and district learning goals. Designed for teams of educators at any grade level (K-12), the workshop provides opportunities for both individual skill-building and meaningful dialogue within the teaching staff. During the workshop, educator teams collaborate to develop a hands-on STEM learning activity they could implement in the classroom. This is accomplished through a gamified, multi-step process (the “Learning Design Process”) that uses Design Thinking to strike a balance between engaging learners, delivering required content and staying within the educator’s capacity.