May is when most student leave campus for the summer. But on one Saturday, campus will welcome a crowd instead. 

Hundreds of middle school students from the Principal's Scholars Program will descend on Loomis Laboratory on Saturday, May 3rd for I-STEAM (Integrating – Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics)  Live, an event filled with quantum based interactive sessions and presentations from IQUIST and the Illini Solar Car team. I-STEAM Live is the end of the year event for the program and will feature topics such as Electron Transition, Laser Cooling, Interface & Measurements, and will participate in a GPS Scavenger Hunt. 

For these scholars, it's more than an event. It's a conference. Celebrating it's 50th year, PSP is a statewide mathematics and science initiative that works with parents and teachers to prepare disadvantaged students for college preparatory pathways and the global world. The program offers grade-specific, fun-filled, interactive courses and other activities designed to enhance students’ academic performance and test scores.

Over 90 percent of PSP participants enroll in college, and  the program has assisted more than 80,000 elementary, middle, and high school students and their parents and teachers since it was created in 1975. 

I-STEAM starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m.