iMAGINE Upstate technology festival brings many to West End – Greenville News

STEAM Fest, presented by Imagine Upstate was held in the West End of downtown and at Fluor Field on Saturday. The event featured science and technology exhibits including robots and drones(Photo: LELAND A. OUTZ)

For the third consecutive year, interactive exhibits, robots, 3D printers and gadgets of all kinds packedthe West Endfor the iMagine Upstate STEAMFestival.

More than 70 booths lined SouthMain Street from Augusta Road to Markley Street.,and into the Fluor Field concourse, as attendees both young and oldreceivedhands on experience with different technologiesfrom a number of area companies and groups.

The goal of the festivalis to giveUpstate children and their parents abetter understandingofscience, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. The free festival lasted from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"Our mission is really to expose kids from preschool all the way up to high school, to different opportunities for different STEAM careers. ... We want togive them a fun and interactive way to get a glimpse into what a career in steam might look like and to just spark theirinterest in STEAM education," said Melissa Huff, director of iMAGINEUpstate. "We've just been very fortunatethere's a huge demand for STEAM education and activities in our area."

Huff thanked the sponsors for their continued support.

Among events, attendees witnessed included a robotics show on the Fluor Field Stage, where robots built by area high school studentsand teams across the state, competed.

The drone races also pulled a large crowd as pilots strapped on goggles and whizzed theirmachines at high speeds through tight turns and checkpointsthroughoutFluor Field.

GarrickRobinsion who brought his wifeWanda, and daughters, Madison, Jordyn and Kaitlyn, was among many familieslooking to broaden their knowledge at the event.

"It's the future. The Upstate is growing and we need these skill-sets. It's good to see that they are trying togetthese kids involved at a young age,"Robinson said.

ScanSource, atechnology distributorbased in the Upstate, was the presenting sponsor for a third year. The companyfeatureda variety of boothswhich includedhigh tech 3D printers, web camera technologyand an interactive drawing experience for children.

Jason Weidman ofScanSource, said the festival has grown in the past few years thanks to the interest in STEAM fromparents and sponsors.Weidman said the festival went from 14,000 attendees in its first year to 20,000 last.

"This festival is important because there are so many innovative companies that need tobe thinking now about the future workforce. This town is an engineeringand manufacturing town. There are so many jobs in those fields.It's important that we develop the future workforce for the Upstate now."

STEAM Fest, presented by Imagine Upstate was held in the West End of downtown and at Fluor Field on Saturday. The event featured science and technology exhibits including robots and drones(Photo: LELAND A. OUTZ)

STEAM Fest, presented by Imagine Upstate was held in the West End of downtown and at Fluor Field on Saturday The event featured science and technology exhibits including robots and drones(Photo: LELAND A. OUTZ)

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iMAGINE Upstate technology festival brings many to West End - Greenville News