HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- (Editor's Note: This story was updated to indicate the NASA geological exhibit featuring moon rocks will no longer be displayed at STEM City.)
The 2024 Hill AFB Warriors Over the Wasatch Air Show will continue its tradition of emphasizing education and learning for youngsters, as the show will once again feature its popular STEM City attraction.
STEM City offers an entire hangar filled with interactive exhibits, including giant video games, drones, robots, virtual reality, welding simulators, and much more.
“We want to make learning about STEM fun,” said Capt. Samantha Van Vynck, STEM City director. “Expanding access and exposure to STEM education and opportunities for kids at a younger age helps create an equitable and inclusive STEM workforce of the future.”
New to this year’s STEM City will be the Utah State University’s Aerolabs Pylot, a fully customizable F-16 flight simulator. Visitors will have an opportunity to fly the simulator, which features aerodynamic modeling.
STEM City will feature the Mars Desert Research Station, run by the Mars Society with help from Quest Academy Charter School students and teens from Davis County Library programs. The mock research station will be large enough for participants to walk inside, crawl through tunnels, and learn about using telescopes and airlocks, what kind of life might have lived on Mars, and what research is currently happening.
Also new to the lineup, Hill AFB Security Forces will be demonstrating its Unmanned Ground Vehicle, Robodog. The robot dog from Ghost Robotics is used to enhance base security, with the ability to operate autonomously within mountainous and hilly terrain. The robot uses modern technology with numerous methods of monitoring and communication. The demonstration will give an overview of all the robot’s capabilities.
Other STEM City participants will include AIAA, INCOSE & IEEE, BAE, Clark Planetarium, Davis Technical College, Douglas Space & Science Foundation, Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill AFB Science and Engineering Recruiting, STEM Action Center’s Innovation Hub, Loveland Living Aquarium, STARBASE, SWEG Launch Pad, Tesla, Leonardo Museum, USU AeroAcademy, USU Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, USU’s AeroLab and Aviation Technology, Haight Bay, VEX Robotics Teams, Weber State’s FIRST robotics demo, Utah Space Center, Southern Utah University Aviation and Star Smart University
“We are so excited to showcase this year’s wide array of STEM exhibits and we are so grateful to the community and supporting organizations who will undoubtedly make this year’s STEM City an incredible experience,” Van Vynck said.
Gates open at 7:30 a.m. both days of the air show and admission is free. For more information about the show, including the lineup of scheduled performers and a list of permitted and prohibited items, visit www.hill.af.mil.