DuPage County is the proud home to 19 accredited colleges and universities along with learning centers, laboratories, museums and exhibitions that offer a variety of educational experiences to help one S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) ahead in learning during Engineers Week (EWeek), February 16-22, 2020 or any time of year. 

Below is a list of locations offering S.T.E.A.M. experiences in DuPage County:

Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont
Visitors can take guided tours of the research facilities or step outside and walk, run or explore the campus. Argonne’s natural surroundings are an inspiration for innovation. Their educational programs offer immersive and engaging experiences to create S.T.E.A.M pathways for students throughout their journeys. Brimming with local pride, Argonne was born from a famous University of Chicago scientific moment. Enrico Fermi and his team solidified their place in history when they engineered the first nuclear chain reaction, a key component leading to the development of the atomic bomb.  


Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), Batavia
Fermilab is known around the world as the destination where proton therapy for cancer treatment became a reality. Fermilab is one of the leading international laboratories for particle physics, the study of the basic building blocks of matter. It is located on 6,800 acres of pristine land, complete with hiking trails, an off-leash dog park and Native American bison roaming the prairie land.


Center for the Gifted, Glenview
Programs are designed specifically to meet the unique educational needs of advanced learners in an environment that is supportive and nurturing of individual gifts and talents. The Center for Gifted and Midwest Torrance Center for Creativity offers diverse and challenging programs throughout the year. Programs reflect courses in science, math, humanities, the arts, computers, robotics, all designed to advance the thinking, creating, and producing talents and abilities of participants. Students are challenged to be perceptive, creative and to think more deeply about course subject matters.

DuPage Children’s Museum, Naperville
For more than 30 years, DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM) has been inspiring families to laugh, learn and love spending time together. The Museum just opened a new exhibit, How People Make Things, bringing magic from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to Chicagoland area. Inspired by the factory tour segments from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series, the exhibit tells the story of how familiar childhood objects are made and how people, ideas and technology transform raw materials into finished products. Visitors can use a die cutter to make a box and a horse, cut wax, assemble a trolley and test skills in other hands-on experiences. Exhibits, programs and special events are designed to help children develop a strong foundation of creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Have fun and learn while playing in the many exhibit neighborhoods. 


Elmhurst College, Elmhurst
In fall 2019, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Elmhurst College $2.75 million in grants to launch two innovative projects that will help students majoring in STEM fields succeed. Elmhurst College is committed to helping students reach their full potential in college and in life. The campus is a 48-acre arboretum, featuring nearly 900 trees and it is only a 30-minute train ride to downtown Chicago.

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, DuPage County
DuPage County’s Forest Preserve District offers places to go and things to do for teachers and their students. A wealth of information can be found on their website, through their newsletter featuring monthly updates on resources for classrooms, professional development workshops they present, as well as courses and field experiences for educations. They also house Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Resource Trunks as well as their own. 

Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, Lisle
Housing over 10,000 specimens, this is a small but wonderful natural history museum located on the second floor of the Michael and Kay Birck Hall of Science at Benedictine University. The museum represents the work of Fr. Hilary Jurica, O.S.B. and his brother, Fr. Edmund Jurica, O.S.B. who collected specimens for their students to use during their almost 100 combined years of teaching at Benedictine University. In the 1990's, Mrs. Mary Mickus created the educational outreach programs and the Discovery Box Loan Program. These outreach programs have now grown to serve over 11,000 local school children annually. The museum serves over 20,000 patrons annually.


The Morton Arboretum, Lisle
Founded in 1922, visitors will find trees, shrubs and other plants from around the world beautifully displayed. The Arboretum maintains living collections, greenhouses, research laboratories and a thriving education department. Be sure to look at their programs for teachers and students. They also lend out IDNR Resource Trunks.


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