Gila Valley Health and STEAM Festival brings massive science and hands-on enjoyable to EA

Kids from throughout will descend on Discovery Park and EA Campus[/caption]Robots will roll. Rockets will launch. Hair will stand on finish.
The 2026 Gila Valley Health and STEAM Festival returns Feb. 27–28, inviting households throughout the Gila Valley to the touch, take a look at, construct, discover, and uncover collectively.
The free two-day celebration of science, know-how, engineering, arts, and math kicks off Friday, Feb. 27, from 5 to eight p.m. at EA Discovery Park. The pleasure continues Saturday, Feb. 28, from 9 a.m. to Noon on the EA Thatcher campus. Blood attracts can be accessible Saturday from 8 a.m. to Noon. Participants ought to come fasting.
Friday night time transforms Discovery Park right into a hands-on journey zone. Kids can step contained in the Star Lab Planetarium, really feel static electrical energy crackle throughout a reside Van de Graaff generator demonstration, experiment at interactive science stations, and look via telescopes on the Gov Aker Observatory. It’s science you don’t simply watch — it’s science you expertise. Food distributors Meg’s Place and Shiver Shack, Dark Sky Donuts, and Dug’s Blow N Smoke BBQ can be on website.
Saturday morning brings much more motion. The Go Gold 1-mile and 5K Color Runs kick off the day in help of Nathaniel’s Childhood Cancer Foundation, sending runners via clouds of colour. Families can get well being screenings, climb into the Freeport-McMoRan haul truck simulator, tour EA’s allied well being and STEAM labs, and gather stamps in a competition passport problem for an opportunity to win prizes.
The competition started years in the past as a group well being honest led by Mount Graham Regional Medical Center, providing free blood testing and fundamental screenings. That dedication to group well being stays on the coronary heart of the occasion. In partnership with Mount Graham Regional Medical Center, free ldl cholesterol and Hemoglobin A1C testing can be accessible Saturday morning, with EA college students aiding underneath skilled supervision. Blood attracts start at 8 a.m. for fasting members.
Throughout each days, youngsters are inspired to ask questions, strive new issues, and picture themselves as future scientists, engineers, well being professionals, and innovators — whereas households benefit from significant, free well being assets.
“The best part of this festival is watching kids light up when something clicks,” stated Aaron Burk, EA dean of STEM and allied well being. “When they see that science is something they can touch and understand, it changes how they see themselves and their future.”
The competition is sponsored by AirEvac Services, Inc., CMI, The City of Safford, Eastern Arizona College, Eastern Arizona Science Initiative, First Things First, Freeport-McMoRan, Mount Graham Regional Medical Center, The University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Cooperative Extension Graham County, and extra group companions.
Admission is free and open to the general public. The free two-day celebration of science, know-how, engineering, arts, and math kicks off Friday, Feb. 27, from 5 to eight p.m. at EA Discovery Park. The pleasure continues Saturday, Feb. 28, from 9 a.m. to Noon on the EA Thatcher campus.
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The Gila Valley Health and STEAM Festival returns to Eastern Arizona College on Feb. 27-28, providing interactive displays, well being screenings, and family-friendly actions. The occasion is free and open to the general public.