Join the EXCITE!ment at the Student Innovation Center

Join us for an exciting open house event! Mark your calendar for Thursday, September 5th, from 3-6 pm for our annual kickoff celebration.

Students and staff can look forward to engaging demonstrations, interactive games and activities on every floor, exclusive giveaways, delicious snacks, and plenty of fun!

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Play our Scavenger Hunt to win one of 30 swag bags!

House-made Games and Giveaways

  • Connections (a questionnaire string game) – Basement atrium
  • Pathway to Prizes (a Plinko® game) – 1st Floor Atrium
  • Elevate to Innovate (a Jenga® game) – 1st Floor, Room 1211
  • Bag Toss – 2nd Floor Courtyard
  • Make your Mark (a collaborative puzzle) – 2nd Floor, Room 2260
  • Learn your Creative Type (Adobe personality quiz) – 3rd Floor Hallway
  • Launch Pad Live (karaoke) – 4th Floor, Room 4250
  • Innovation Partners – All Floors
  • Prizes and Unique Giveaways – All Floors
  • Free Food – Multiple Floors
Activity Location Description
Experience Virtual Welding Near Room 0235 Venture downstairs and try out the NEW Miller MobileArc Welder. A virtual reality welding simulator. It recreates a welding and gives you a “grade”. The highest score(s) at the end of the night receive a one of a kind “swag bag”. Never welded before? No problem, the machine and our trained instructor can give you feedback and coaching. If you like what you see and want to do more we offer welding training throughout the semester, reach out to a supervisor, complete the online safety training, and try the real deal!
Game Design Initiatives and Open Gameplay Room 0102 Stop by the Game Design Lab to learn about current and emerging initiatives in game design at ISU, including the proposed Game Design Major. Faculty across disciplines will bring a number of innovative, challenging, and fun video games and board games available for open play.
Make & Take a Print! Room 1222 Come to the Letterpress Lab to Make & Take your very own Hand-Printed Letterpress Poster!
Cyclones Take New York Launch Party Innovate 1858 Join us for an exciting celebration at the Cyclones Take New York Launch Party! This event marks the culmination of a design contest in which talented Iowa State students showcased their creativity and passion for fashion by designing unique products for Cyclone fans, with the top two designers winning a trip to New York Fashion Week. Meet some of the designers whose innovative creations are making their way to retailers nationwide. The top three winning designs will be unveiled, and the designs will be available for purchase at Innovate 1858. Support Cyclone designers and get the designs while you can!
Glassblowing Demonstrations Room 1202 The Gaffer’s Guild will provide continuous walk-in/out demonstrations of glassblowing. We will have on display the types of artistic and functional glass that is being made in the Glassblowing Studio. Visitors to the studio will be provided with safety glasses and it is preferred that visitors wear close-toed shoes.
Cardinal Space Mining Club Outside – East Side The Cardinal Space Mining Club participates in the annual NASA Lunarbotics competition. We would be delighted to showcase our robot and answer any questions about our club.
Printing Possibilities are SWEET Near Room 2114 Come for the CANDY, learn about the PRINTING!
Start Something LAS Academy Demos Near Room 2231 Check out the Start Something LAS Academy! See how you can leverage entrepreneurial opportunities within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. There will be stickers, candy, and handouts for all to enjoy! See what some of our current students have created.
Biological and Pre-Medical Illustration Showcase Room 2106 Come check out the BPMI Studios! See what cool projects the students have been working on and see the amazing illustrations they have completed.
WiSE Trivia 3135 Are you a trivia buff? See how well you know Iowa State and women in STEM trivia! Stop by The Program for Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) at our WiSE West location to play some trivia!
IEs are FIRE Near Room 3222 FIRE – Future IndustRial Engineer: Industrial Engineers improve processes to HELP PEOPLE in every industry imaginable, from Caterpillar to Carhartt, from the Mayo Clinic to Mars. They solve puzzles: how do we make processes better, faster, cheaper, and safer? Learn about manufacturing, human factors, and operations research with hands-on activities. Can you win the grip strength challenge? How about speed-stacking? Can you make the leaderboard?
Entrepreneurship Jeopardy Near Room 3231 Come learn about the entrepreneurship programs and events available to every student from the Pappajohn Center while you can play Jeopardy and win prizes!
CALS Innovative Projects Rooms 4227 and 4229 Learn about the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences innovative projects taking place and learn about the new art installation in the hallway of the fourth floor.

Save the Date EXCITE! 2024

Thursday, September 5th
Student Innovation Center