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

By Lori Dugan/EAC

THATCHER — 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 will likely be accessible Saturday from 8 a.m. to Noon. Participants ought to come fasting.

On Friday evening, Discovery Park transforms 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 by way of telescopes on the Gov Aker Observatory. It’s science you don’t simply watch — it’s science you expertise. Food distributors Shiver Shack, Dark Sky Donuts, and Dug’s Blow N Smoke BBQ will likely 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 by way of clouds of shade. Families can get well being screenings, climb into the Freeport-McMoRan haul truck simulator, tour EA’s allied well being and STEAM labs, and acquire stamps in a pageant passport problem for an opportunity to win prizes.

The pageant 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 will likely be accessible Saturday morning, with EA college students aiding underneath skilled supervision. Blood attracts start at 8 a.m. for fasting contributors.

Throughout each days, youngsters are inspired to ask questions, attempt new issues, and picture themselves as future scientists, engineers, well being professionals, and innovators — whereas households benefit from significant, free well being sources.

“The best part of this festival is watching kids light up when something clicks,” mentioned 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 pageant 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.

About EA

Eastern Arizona College is a rural-serving establishment dedicated to increasing entry to greater schooling and workforce coaching in STEM and allied well being fields. Through modern packages, trade partnerships, and experiential studying alternatives, EA prepares college students for careers in healthcare, science, and rising applied sciences. The faculty affords affiliate levels, certificates, and a Bachelor of Science in allied well being, thereby strengthening the area’s healthcare workforce.