SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — All things aviation for more than 200 Siouxland students on Thursday. Middle and high school students from 19 area schools participated in the first-ever Siouxland STEM-Aviation festival.
During the 4-hour event, students experienced 6 different stem-related activities. One included the inside of a KC-135 tanker stationed at the 185th Air Refueling Wing as well as rocket launching and flight avionics at the Mid-America Museum of Aviation and Transportation.
The event, hosted by Northwest Iowa Region STEM, allowed students to get hands-on with careers in the aviation field.
“We want to make sure we’re giving our students as young as 6th grade and even younger the opportunity to see what’s out there, as far as career opportunities because it’s very vast,” Northwest Iowa STEM Manager Mary Trent said, “And to really get them interested in the many dynamics whether it’s mechanics, drones. There’s many different avenues they can take as well.”
The STEM region is a part of the Governor’s STEM advisory council, which aims to get more students into science, technology, engineering, and math careers.
U.S. Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Katelyn Perales, a production recruiter of the 185th Air Refueling Wing, guides high school students to the unit’s dining facility for lunch while they visit the 185th Air Refueling Wing at the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2023. Students visited the unit to see science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based careers as part of the Siouxland Aviation Festival. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Tylon Chapman) 
U.S. Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Daniel Hinds, a 185th Air Refueling Wing Aerospace Medical Technician, demonstrates starting an IV catheter on a mannequin’s arm for students visiting the 185th Air Refueling Wing at the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2023. Students visited the unit to see science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based careers as part of the Siouxland Aviation Festival. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Tylon Chapman) 
A U.S. Air National Guard Airman with the 185th Air Refueling Wing Fire Department demonstrates a window punch tool for high school students visiting the 185th Air Refueling Wing at the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2023. Students visited the unit to see science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based careers as part of the Siouxland Aviation Festival. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Tylon Chapman) 
U.S. Air National Guard 1st Lt. Rylee McKinney, a pilot of the 185th Air Refueling Wing, answers questions while touring a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker for middle school students visiting the 185th Air Refueling Wing at the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2023. Students visited the unit to see science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based careers as part of the Siouxland Aviation Festival. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Tylon Chapman) 
Jay Doran, a simulator technician of the 185th Air Refueling Wing, explains how air-refueling simulators are used for boom operations training to high school students visiting the 185th Air Refueling Wing at the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2023. Students visited the unit to see science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based careers as part of the Siouxland Aviation Festival. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Tylon Chapman) 
A middle school student looks through a transit level while visiting the 185th Air Refueling Wing at the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2023. Students visited the unit to see science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based careers as part of the Siouxland Aviation Festival. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Tylon Chapman)
