Stem Trek Hickory 2025
The 2025 STEM Trek in Hickory, North Carolina will take place on April 16–17. It will be held at the Hickory Metro Convention Center.
What:
A free family event that explores STEM careers through hands-on activities
A regional STEM career and job fair
Who:
Middle and high school students, adults interested in STEM careers, and families who want to inspire a love of science
When:
April 16–17, 2025
Where:
Hickory Metro Convention Center, 1960 13th Ave Dr. SE #5186, Hickory, NC 28602
Did you know that the United States Bureau of Labor projects that STEM careers will grow by 10.8% from 2022 to 2032 while non-STEM jobs will grow only 2.3% during that same time period? Did you know that STEM careers had an annual median wage of $101,650 while non-STEM careers have an annual median wage of $46,680 in 2023?
STEM West advocates and supports the alignment of educational and occupational objectives through the regional workforce and community partnerships. Our work with STEM supports the workforce in western North Carolina and in the nation.
One of the events sponsored by STEM West, Catawba Science Center, and the Greater Hickory International Council is STEM Trek.
What is STEM Trek 2025?
STEM Trek is a community event that has been a standing partnership for over seven years between STEM West, the Catawba Science Center (CSC) and the Greater Hickory International Council (GHIC). The CSC has readily provided space for the event, while the GHIC continues to provide funding and volunteers. Other partners include the Pepsi Distribution Center and the NC Science Festival. This NC Science Festival Event has seen families return each year to learn about regional STEM careers and have fun doing science together. After seven years, the planning team wants to develop a similar event for high school students who are just beginning to establish their career pathways. As a result, STEM Trek 2025 will be hosted at the Hickory Metro Center to be able to provide over 50 businesses space to exhibit hands-on activities related to their employment opportunities. This event will cost approximately $50,000 as it is a FREE event for over 6,600 students and the public.
STEM Trek 2025 will be a 2-day event. All businesses/organizations will set up their demonstration tables with hands-on activities on April 15th, 2025. On April 16-17 the 10th graders will be scheduled to tour the Hickory Metro to visit and interact with the regional STEM businesses for approximately 90 minutes. These interactions will focus on learning about STEM careers in the region. These careers will range from high school diplomas/credentials to 2-year and 4-year degrees.
A new addition to the event there will be a community job fair and family engagement time. After students return to school on April 16th, from 3:00-6:00, the event will open to the public for family visits and a job fair. HR representatives will be present at this time to conduct interviews and assist with application completions. Since this event is after school hours, participating businesses will continue to provide activities for children and youth while adults will be interacting with HR personnel to work on applications. Children will readily want to engage with the hands-on activities, having fun learning STEM!