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Full STEAM Ahead: A Night of Exploration and Inspiration

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Full STEAM Ahead: A Night of Exploration and Inspiration

 

On Thursday, March 26, FWPS hosted its ninth annual STEAM Exploration Night, welcoming thousands of PreK–12 scholars and families to Federal Way High School for an evening of discovery and hands-on learning.

This year’s student-voted theme, Full STEAM Ahead, came to life throughout the event. The theme highlights how STEAM can be used as a tool to achieve career goals. Fueled by imagination and driven by innovation, students were on a journey to explore, experiment, and excel.

With more than 150 booths hosted by STEAM partners and FWPS schools, along with workshops, demonstrations, and interactive experiences, every space in the building offered something new to explore. From construction and coding to virtual reality college tours and colorful science experiments, the event connected classroom learning to real-world opportunities and future careers.

Popular attractions returned, including the STEAM Film Festival featuring scholar-produced films, the Minecraft Engineering Challenge, coding workshops, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) demonstrations. Art also played a central role. Attendees explored design and engineering activities with Arts Impact, enjoyed mini theater performances by Federal Way and Todd Beamer high schools, and experienced a puppetry booth that brought creativity to life in a new way.

FWPS scholars were at the heart of the event. Todd Beamer High School students led biomedical science stations such as fingerprinting, vitals checks, and gene testing. Federal Way High School AFJROTC students introduced visitors to flight through simulators. Across the district, middle and elementary schools showcased projects in gardening, journalism, robotics, art, and more.

student at a booth with an animal
biomedical presentation with students
students at an exhibit with plants

Eighth-grade Sequoyah Middle School students Cooper and Liam attended for the first time and were eager to explore.

“I like games, coding, and creating things. I heard there’s a drone station, so I want to check that out,” Liam said.

“I’m trying to see everything I can,” Cooper added. “Maybe robotics, maybe something hands-on. I heard about an airplane station, too.”

We extend our gratitude to everyone who made this event possible: 

  • Our 2026 event sponsors: Highline College, BNBuilders, Lakehaven Water and Sewer District, Sound Transit, and Sylvan Learning Center of Federal Way 

  • The many STEAM partners who shared career pathways and post-secondary opportunities 

  • Our schools, which showcased the engaging STEAM learning happening all year round  

  • FWPS pathway leads and event staff, including Nutrition Services, Transportation, Security, Maintenance and Operations, ITS, Student Support Services, Communications, Multilingual Services, and Teaching for Learning 

  • Our incredible adult and high school volunteers who helped the event run smoothly  

  • Federal Way High School, with a special thank you to the custodial team for welcoming our community 

Lastly, thank you to the families who joined the fun. We hope you had a great time and will join us again next year. 

Want to share your experience? Send us a note at comments@fwps.org!

 

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