The Big Hoopla

The Big Hoopla STEM Challenge – Sunday, 16 March 2025

The Big Hoopla STEM Challenge is a free family event for kids (K-8) that ties together the excitement of college basketball and the power of STEM education. IEEE-USA and other regional and national partners will be on hand to engage kids with hands-on STEM activities.

Kids who stop by IEEE-USA’s booth will learn about electricity through a special activity, such as How to Make a Paper Circuit Airplane! IEEE member volunteers will be on hand to assist us at The Big Hoopla STEM Challenge on Sunday, 16 March at the Wright State University Student Union in Fairborn, Ohio, to help staff the IEEE-USA booth and oversee STEM activities for young attendees. We have 2 shifts for volunteers: 11am-2:30pm, and 2:30-6pm.

The Big Hoopla 2025

For the 3rd consecutive year, IEEE-USA were key sponsors for Dayton Big Hoopla, a series of community events leading up to the first four games of the NCAA Tournament. Our team traveled to Dayton, Ohio to be a part of the Hoopla STEM Challenge. This year’s event saw record attendance, and also record IEEE-USA volunteer participation. Helping our members connect with K-8 kids allows us to:

1. Support kids STEM programs by helping kids learn about engineering and electricity at a crucial time in their intellectual development
2. Connect with our amazing members and volunteers, including students

This year’s Hoopla STEM Challenge was the biggest we’ve seen so far – 1,500 kids and 4k+ total attendees flocked to Wright State University, to engage with local, regional and national organizations through exciting, STEM-related activities. This year, IEEE-USA got even more into the spirit by giving away 2 Smart TVs! Kids who participated in the STEM Challenge were entered to win and names were drawn at the closing ceremonies. Another huge prize for the event is the set of full-ride scholarships given to winners of the Hot Shot Challenge – a series of basketball challenges for kids K-8.

After last year’s mini-lightsabers were such a hit, we knew we needed to bring our game. So this time we showed the kids how to build Airplane Paper Circuits – this activity was great because it ties in:

• Electricity – IEEE was founded as the Institute of Electrical Engineers, so this still resonates with a huge population of our national and global membership. And of course when you can make something move using electricity (like with the motors in this activity), the kids love it!
• Engineering – putting together a paper circuit may look simple, but it really does take some tinkering to engineer one of these airplanes. The kids did a great job staying patient and curious as they figured out how to make their propellers spin!
• Aerospace – Dayton, OH is the birthplace of aviation, and is home to the Wright-Patterson Airforce Base.

We could never have pulled off this event without the work of our amazing volunteers. This year we had higher volunteer participation than ever before. IEEE member volunteers came to us from IEEE Region 2, Dayton Section and student chapters at University of Dayton and Wright State University. This incredible group of engineers, scientists and students worked together to make sure these kids not only got to go home with a great souvenir, but also learned something along the way about patience, dedication, and the work of a true engineer. A huge thank you to these folks for helping us put together such an exciting booth this year.

The Big Hoopla 2024

IEEE-USA was a sponsor of the Dayton Big Hoopla again in 2024. Staff had the pleasure of traveling to Dayton, OH. This event encompassed a series of exciting activities, including a 5-miler, a STEM Challenge for kids, sponsor dinner, and the first four basketball games at University of Dayton arena – annual precursor to March Madness!

This was our third year sponsoring the event, and also participating in the exciting STEM Challenge that occurs in tandem with the event each year. During the challenge, organizations provided various activities for students to complete that are related to STEM education. The IEEE-USA booth captured tons of excitement as our Dayton section volunteers taught the kids how to build their own mini-lightsabers, all the while teaching them about basic circuits and electricity. What a pleasant surprise when we also realized that also in attendance were Princess Lea, Darth Vader and a stormtrooper – who of course made a great audience for the lightsaber battles that ensued. 12 finalists were celebrated as winners of the STEM Challenge, and it was announced that Wright State University, another Hoopla sponsor, actually awarded these lucky winners with full-ride scholarships to WSU. This event was truly unforgettable for the kids, and IEEE-USA delighted in the opportunity to bring our talented volunteers in touch with the greater Dayton community.

Notable attendees at this event included commanders Lt. General Donna D. Shipton and Lt. General Linda S. Hurry of the U.S. Airforce and the USAF Life Cycle Management Center, who not only attended the STEM Challenge, but also the sponsor celebration dinner. Also present at the sponsor dinner was 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, who was recently crowned Miss America 2024.

Here are some pictures of the 2024 Events.

The Big Hoopla 2022

IEEE-USA was a silver sponsor of the Big Hoopla STEM Challenge on Sunday, 13 March 2022. An estimated 3,000 parents and children attended, many of whom visited IEEE-USA’s booth to engage in STEM activities and learn more about technology careers. More than 15 IEEE volunteers participated from the Dayton area (including the University of Dayton Student Section), Cincinnati and even Columbus.

The event, which is The Big Hoopla’s anchor event, tied together the excitement and passion for college basketball to the power of STEM education. Regional and national partners, including IEEE-USA, were on-site to engage students with hands-on science, technology, engineering and math demonstrations.

Here are some pictures from the 2022 events.