Multicultural Development Center of Iowa

We are never disappointed when we trust Juan from SYNcere Printing, LLC with our promotional items. Whether it's t-shirts, hats, banners, pens, or anything else we can think of putting our logo on, he ALWAYS delivers. These shirts for the 2022 Juneteenth Celebration turned out better than expected. If you are not using Syncere Printing then you are missing out on an opportunity to support an Iowa Targeted Small Business, a veteran, and a master of his craft.

It's almost impossible for middle-aged men to look cool doing VR but somehow Steve looks better doing it than I do. We're so excited about the special work that we are doing with Shive-Hattery and can't wait to share more details. Mark and Mariam are amazing to work with and truly understand our mission to serve which is reflected in their design. More news coming soon!

What are you doing June 17 - 19? If you are going to be in Iowa City, please consider participating in one of the Johnson County Juneteenth Celebration events.

MDC Iowa is excited to part of this year's celebration and will have a kid-friendly STEM activity at the Juneteenth in our Neighborhood event at Mercer Park in Iowa City on June 18th from 11am to 3pm. Come out to celebrate our food, culture, and resilience as a community.

Be sure to come to the Downtown at Sundown in downtown Iowa City on Friday, June 17th for live music, food, games, basketball, and a fashion show!

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/jciajuneteenth

It takes local community partnerships to do the work that we do and it wouldn't be possible without the financial support from the city, county, and private businesses.

We are so grateful for our newest partner, Hills Bank, who has joined us in our fight for racial justice and equity in our communities. This new partnership has already enhanced our programs and services by providing financial literacy training and support for our BIPOC Business Accelerator participants. Hills Bank is not just committed to supporting minority-owned businesses but also improving the lack of diversity in the lending industry and intentionally promoting small businesses. We will be collaborating on how to improve the pipeline of BIPOC candidates that need our support in pursuing a career in banking.

It was great to have a few of our local board members (Matt and Julia), our summer interns (Kaitlyn and Ebenezer), and Kate from ICAD Group present to accept the donation from Matt Olson of Hills Bank.

MDC Iowa is super excited to introduce our new Volunteer Coordinator, Trevor Whitaker. Trevor is from Superior, Wisconsin and currently works as a Technology Specialist for a credit union near his hometown. Trevor has led classes for community members on technology literacy and in his free time he likes to ride bikes, listen to music, and play with his dog.

In addition to his experience in technology advocacy and education, Trevor is an involved outdoor access advocate. He volunteers at the Iowa City Bike Library and runs Gear Cellar, an outdoor gear library through which Eastern Iowans can borrow specialized outdoor equipment for free.

At MDC Iowa, Trevor hopes to recruit and wrangle volunteers, and help develop actionable
plans to further the reach and scope of MDC Iowa's programs, continuing his dedication to removing access barriers for black and brown people.

You can typically find Trevor at the INNOV8 Lab on 1222 S. Gilbert Ct, contact Trevor ([email protected]) to volunteer!

Starting next week MDC Iowa's STEM Factory will be open to kids throughout the summer on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 am-5 pm! Join us to explore STEM through hands-on learning projects in robotics, coding, 3D Printing, and more 🎉

Contact our Associate Program Director ([email protected]) to sign up your child, volunteer, or learn more!

Things to Know-
Location: 1927 S Keokuk St, Iowa City, IA, 52240
Price: FREE
Bring: Snacks and lunch

So proud to accept this proclamation recognizing June 19th as Juneteenth National Freedom Day from Mayor Teague of Iowa City. I accepted this proclamation with Johnson County Supervisor, Royceann Porter on behalf of the 60+ people that worked hard to plan and coordinate the celebrations of freedom taking place throughout Johnson County on June 17th, 18th, and 19th.

If you are not sure why Juneteenth is so important please read more here: https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth

Thank you to each of the private donors that support our programs. When you think about your donations, we want to you remember the smiling faces of these underserved kids that have an opportunity to be part of the future of STEM because of you.

If you can’t tell that I really enjoy mentoring and teaching young people then you haven’t been paying attention 😃

Andrew got his first lesson in by assembling the enclosure for our CNC and laser cutting machine. Pure joy!

We’re getting sooooo close! The maker space (code name: INNOV8 Lab) has 20 3D printers, 2 laser cutters and engravers, 2 CNC machines, sewing machines, table saw, routers, mitre saw, hand tools, planer, CAD workstation, and has a full conference room for collaboration. INNOV8 Lab, a free community service by MDC Iowa, will be open to the public starting on June 1st. Stay tuned for grand opening information.

Teamwork makes the dream work! Maddie and Trevor are getting our maker space ready. We’re super excited for you all to have access to this space. MDC Iowa’s INNOV8 Lab will be a free community service in Johnson County. Stay tuned for our grand opening date.

I was so excited to teach my favorite class (3D Design + 3D Printing) this weekend but the Universe had other plans. 30 minutes into a 2-hour class the computers stopped working and only one student could do the project. I could have reacted poorly or given up but instead, I used the opportunity to teach critical thinking. We observed, analyzed, inferred, communicated, and problem solved together as a class. In the end, it was too complex of an issue to fix during class but these amazing young students kept a great attitude and stayed open to a new learning experience.

We still learned about 3D printing but were unable to design our own models so we'll try again in the next class. Special thanks to the grandmother that brought 6 of her grandkids and the dad that stayed for the entire class learning side by side with his son. This really felt like community today and we are so thankful for those who trust us to show up for their kids even when things don't go as planned.

How do you improve diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? By intentionally improving access to learning experiences for historically underrepresented people one project at a time.

Our first class in our new location was a success and the kids loved building their own robots. Thank you Matt Butler and Maddie for co-teaching this class with me. We seriously have the best team of staff and volunteers.

Registration for Let’s Build a Robot - Part 1 and 2 is now open. This free STEM learning experience will be held at our STEM Factory in Iowa City on Saturday, April 9th and May 28th from 11am - 2pm. No prior robot or programming experience is required. Join us for a fun, hands-on class to learn how robots work and make yours dance, follow you, and avoid obstacles. Registration and attendance in Part 1 is required to participate in Part 2. Each student will receive their own robot to continue their learning at home after Part 2.

Sometimes I almost feel guilty that I have so many rewarding opportunities to work with young people in our community. I was so inspired and energized by these amazing, brave, and resilient students at United Action for Youth's PrideCon. Some of them had considered a STEM degree or career but we found some new recruits! They had so much fun learning the science behind electric motors while making their own.

It is so important to have a diverse STEM workforce and this next generation will not only help us innovate but also make sure that all marginalized people are represented in the future. One student thanked me for making STEM learning more accessible because they had never had an opportunity to learn science like this before. This confirmed what I have been saying for years... we need more project-based, hands-on learning experiences in STEM for our youth.

Reminder to celebrate Black History every month not just in February. Special thanks to our partner at SEJH Library, Ms. Sims. These Essential Black Wisdom books and 3D printed bookmarks will be a source of inspiration and strength for all students all year long.

Look what arrived today! We thought this Pride in STEM pin would be the perfect way to commemorate this year’s PrideCon. Big Thank You to UAY for inviting us to be part of this amazing event.

MDC Iowa’s STEM Factory class schedule for Spring 2022 is now available. Check out the new, fun, hands-on STEM learning experiences at mdciowa.org/stem