2019 STEM Star winner Dennis Blair, Blair IT; Westerville Mayor Craig Treneff; 2020 STEM Star Jean Trimble; Westerville City Schools Superintendent Dr. John Kellogg; and COSI Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs, Josh Sarver.
The City of Westerville nominated Westerville City Schools Innovation Space Manager Jean Trimble, for a COSI STEM Star Award. She will also represent the city as a Grand Marshal at the 2020 COSI Science Festival, which runs from May 6-9, 2020. Trimble was recognized at a ceremony in North’s SHOP on Friday afternoon, November 1.
Trimble is being honored for creating the first Westerville City Schools makerspace at Walnut Springs Middle School as well as developing the Trash to Fashion and Lyrical Westerville student competitions at the Starry Night Art and Science Festival. She is also now the Innovation Spaces Leader for the entire Westerville City School District. As her nomination states, “Jean has excelled at bringing community volunteers into her makerspace and is developing creative ways to utilize the district makerspaces and labs to further include projects suggested by community members into the schools’ science and technology programs.”
“The COSI STEM Star Award is a great opportunity to showcase people encouraging excitement around Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, right in their own communities, just like Jean Trimble,” said Stephen White, Vice President of External Affairs, Strategic Initiatives, and Business Development at COSI. “Her work in Westerville parallels the goals of the COSI Science Festival of engaging, inspiring and transforming lives around science technology where people live, learn, and lounge.”
The COSI STEM Star program was created in honor of the annual COSI Science Festival and recognizes individuals in Central Ohio who champion science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Trimble joins other STEM Stars that will serve as representatives of their communities throughout the COSI Science Festival.
As a way to recognize the COSI STEM Stars and partner cities, COSI will be giving away one free COSI Family Membership every month between now and May 2020. Guests at each STEM Star ceremony will be prompted to text COSI to 910-11 to receive texts from COSI and be entered in a drawing to win a free COSI Family Membership.
The 2019 inaugural COSI Science Festival impacted more than 40,000 people throughout central Ohio over the four days of the festival. The first three days of the festival include free events in communities throughout the region highlighting science and technology. The final, fourth day of the festival is the free culminating event, The Big Science Celebration, held on the peninsula outside COSI, with booths representing different businesses, nonprofits, universities and other organizations from around the region, each of whom will have a hands-on science activity for attendees. For more information about the COSI Science Festival or to volunteer or participate, please visit https://cosiscifest.org.