IMAGINE STEM Saturdays for Students

Explore future STEM careers, engage in advanced mathematics and engineering topics, and develop the skills and mindsets needed to be the innovators of today and tomorrow. IMAGINE STEM Saturday classes are available each Spring and Fall semester for Kindergarten – 12th-grade students and families in the Champaign-Urbana area.

All courses include project-based activities with close attention to advanced mathematics, introducing algebra concepts as early as kindergarten with the goal of long-term participants being algebra-ready by 8th grade and calculus-ready by 12th.

Spring 2026 IMAGINE STEM Saturdays - Grades K - 12 

Dates: March 28, April 4, April 18  (9:30 am - 12:00 pm) 

Location:

• Kindergarten - 5th grade: First Presbyterian Church (302 W Church St, Champaign, IL 61820)
• 6th - 12th grade: Loomis Laboratory of Physics (1110 W Green St Loomis Laboratory, Urbana, IL 61801)

*Parents/Caregivers attend classes with K-5 students

• Kindergarten – 1st grade (+Caregiver(s)): Light and Color - Explore important properties of light and how it relates to the colors we see. Learning about light provides an early introduction to concepts important to understanding galaxies and stars, as well as the quantum realm. 
• 2nd - 3rd grade (+ Caregiver(s)): Light and Color - Explore important properties of light and how it relates to the colors we see. Learning about light provides an early introduction to concepts important to understanding galaxies and stars, as well as the quantum realm. 
• 4th - 5th grade (+Caregiver(s)): Geometry - Explore the mathematical patterns and surprising characteristics of 2-D and 3-D geometry.  

 

• 6th - 8th grade: Inquiry into Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering with the Principal's Scholars Program - Get comfortable with the Scientific Inquiry cycle: predict, test, learn, repeat. Learn about plasmas, cloud chambers, crystals under the microscope, electromagnets, and more. 
• 6th - 8th grade: Autonomous Vehicles in Space with Aerospace Engineering and the Principal's Scholars Program - Explore the use of autonomous and remote control vehicles, especially the design and programming decisions needed for exploration of moons and planets where humans can not yet travel.
• 9th - 12th grade: Photonics: Harnessing the Power of Light with the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and Principal's Scholars Program - Learn about the relevance of light and how its properties are particularly important in materials science and engineering, electronics, and computing. Use knowledge about light's reflection, refraction, and absorption to design and program a laser light show, and to construct and test a solar cell. 

For all classes:

• Check-in begins 15 minutes before class begins
• To-go lunch provided at dismissal. 

 

K-5 Registration

6-12 Registration

Parent / Adult Caregiver Involvement is an Important Part of the IMAGINE STEM Program:

• Elementary (K-5): side-by-side learning with the child and an adult caregiver will participate together during all Saturday classes
• Middle School (6-8):  IMAGINE Family STEM Nights
• High School (9-12): Explore Grainger Engineering events

Partnerships for Equity, Access, and Representation in STEM Initiative Overview

IMAGINE STEM Saturdays were developed as part of the Partnerships for Equity, Access, and Representation in STEM Initiative funded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’s Call to Action grant as a social impact initiative. PEAR-STEM was a collaboration of Champaign-Urbana community organizations Driven to Reach Excellence & Academic Achievement for Males (DREAAM) & the Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center (UNCC), and the Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program (ChiS&E). University of Illinois participants included Psychology and Engineering faculty, as well as specialists in public engagement and STEM curriculum development & teaching (WYSE & MSTE). The goal was to address inequities in preparation for STEM careers among K-12 students and to identify how to optimize preparation for historically excluded Black and Brown children. In alignment with our mission to foster a supportive environment for all members of our university community, this organization is open to all eligible students regardless of race, color or national origin who have an interest in encouraging diversity and inclusion in STEM fields.

Through PEAR-STEM, IMAGINE STEM Saturdays were initially implemented in the C-U community. Participating teachers received professional development to strengthen course content and delivery, and the courses were evaluated for effectiveness and continue to grow.