In commemoration of STEM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Day)—the 75^th Anniversary of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)—101 students, teachers, and families gathered at the Arecibo C3 STEM Center (AC3) for a programming preview ahead of its opening later this year. Situated at the NSF site of the Arecibo Observatory Historic District—home of the former William E. Gordon radio telescope—AC3’s programs will promote workforce development and inspire the next generation of STEM students. AC3 opening date remains to be determined and will be announced once finalized.

As part of its pre-opening pilot phase, AC3’s STEM Day featured demonstrations from 10 STEM-related projects across Puerto Rico. Participants explored a variety of interactive experiences and completed feedback surveys. Activities spanned a variety of STEM areas—sunspot viewing through solar telescopes with AODACE (Asociación de Observación, Difusión Astronómica y Ciencias del Espacio); computer programming with music by REMEZCLA from UPR Río Piedras; DNA “sequencing” using LEGO® blocks from AC3; educational robotics from UPR Arecibo; robotics from C3Tec; the Coquí Project from UPR Ponce; and the Honey Bee Observation Hive Project from UPR Río Piedras. Additional STEM demonstrations were presented by student chapters of SACNAS Puerto Rico—UPR Río Piedras and Interamericana Arecibo—and the American Chemical Society (ACS) chapter of UPR Río Piedras.

Core AC3 programming previews included a Makerspace activity and brainstorming session that combined craft activities with digital literacy. A “Build a Better Book” demo featured the creation of Braille reading materials. The nature walk was a guided exploration through the site’s undisturbed and unique geography and biodiversity.

In the “bee hunting” activity, students combined drone flight, 3D mapping, and artificial intelligence to monitor wild bee colony populations of the Puerto Rican Honey Bee. In addition to a discussion and overview of AC3’s planned offerings, the event concluded with a historical talk by former Observatory scientist, Dr. Allison Smith, who shared her own career path and insights on the site’s Nobel Prize–winning discoveries.

“The breadth of activities presented at STEM Day reflects Arecibo C3’s goal of bringing education and research back to the site in a completely new way,” commented AC3 Lead Principal Investigator Jason Williams of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. “The Arecibo Observatory’s discoveries were made by looking to the sky; Arecibo C3’s discoveries will be made by looking everywhere.”

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The NSF Arecibo C3 STEM Center works to catalyze STEM education, research, and workforce development across Puerto Rico, the nation, and internationally. AC3’s vision—“Make STEM work for you”—reflects its delivery-focused mission to “Learn what works”—expand and apply evidence-based education research—"Do what works”—scale programs that build STEM skills—and “Share what works”—engage and strengthen communities with the benefits of STEM. Located at the U.S. National Science Foundation site of the Arecibo Observatory Historic District, AC3 is a collaboration between Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. It is funded by NSF (Awards 2321759, 2321760, and 2321761).

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF Awards ID 2321759, 2321760, and 2321761. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.