When I was at school, I took part in mathematics olympiads. Usually, I came to a classroom, tried to solve five difficult problems, solved two or three, then waited two weeks for the results. Later I came back, saw that I had not won, and left. It was academic, serious, and for most children quite lonely. Only a few were celebrated.
Years later, I started joining amateur running races. Even when I did not win and finished with an average result, I still received a medal, a T-shirt, cheering, music, and a festival-like finish line. I felt proud, supported, and motivated to continue.
I began to wonder why intellectual effort is treated so differently, especially for children. In mathematics, many children either get traditional competitions designed for the strongest students, or no equal and motivating challenge at all.
EO STEM Jam was created to bring the best of both worlds together: meaningful intellectual challenge and the atmosphere of a modern family festival. Children choose their level, work at their own pace, earn tokens for solved tasks, and use them for STEM activities or small STEM rewards. Every child is seen, supported, and awarded.
We wanted to give children a first-class STEM experience where mathematics feels not like judgment, but like adventure, progress, and pride.
EO STEM Jam is a family mathematics and science festival.
Children from preschool to 6th grade solve playful math challenges, explore science, maker, and technology stations, and move through the event as an adventure. Tasks are organized by difficulty, so every child can participate at their own level: some practise basics, others challenge themselves with harder problems.
Parents have their own parallel experience. They can join logic-based activities, short talks on motivation and imagination, and sometimes unusual lectures on abstract mathematics. This helps families see STEM not only as school performance, but as curiosity, culture, and future readiness.
The atmosphere is nonjudgmental, multilingual, and inclusive. Children can participate in Finnish, English, Swedish, or with support from multilingual volunteers. Mentors and volunteers prepare beforehand and guide children through the activities.
The result is a visible, high-energy STEM experience with emotions, photos, stories, medals, “aha” moments, and proud children leaving the event with a new relationship to mathematics and science.
EO STEM Jam started as a local experiment in Helsinki and has grown through families, volunteers, schools, and partners.
In 2024–2025, we organized four EO STEM Jam festivals in Helsinki. More than 400 families participated, over 600 young people were engaged, and the participant feedback was exceptionally strong: average rating 9.7/10 and NPS 89.7%. Many families returned, recommended the event to others, and asked for the format to continue.
The model is now moving from single events toward a broader movement. Non-profit Aurora Math ry is developing EO STEM Jam as part of a larger STEM pipeline for children, families, educators, and volunteers. The next major step is EO STEM Jam at Dipoli, Aalto University, Espoo, on 3–4 October 2026, with 650+ youth and 600 parents and educators expected.
The idea is also spreading through partnerships. Companies, universities, schools, municipalities, volunteers, and STEM enthusiasts can join the festival as content partners, mentors, speakers, or supporters. The format creates strong visual stories, impact data, family engagement, and a practical way to bring STEM into public culture.
In EO STEM Jam vol.3 (2024), we expanded the concept by adding EO STEM Lab for older children in grades 4–6. While EO STEM Jam served younger children from preschool to grade 3, EO STEM Lab created a more advanced hands-on engineering track. Children worked in teams, solved math challenges to earn materials, and then used those materials to design, build, test, and rebuild creative engineering solutions, such as bridges, towers, or a mystery task revealed at the event. This helped us test how the festival can grow with children: from playful first math experiences to more strategic teamwork, engineering thinking, and real problem-solving, while keeping the same principle that every child is supported and awarded.
In EO STEM Jam vol.4, we made the biggest product-level improvements:
1) We introduced a central theme, “The Adventurers”, redesigned the children’s STEM program so all experiments connected to the theme, added new activities,
2) Created a stronger program for parents and educators with six speakers.
The easiest way to try EO STEM Jam is to join one of our festivals as a family, volunteer, educator, or partner.
Families can register their children for the next EO STEM Jam festival and take part in the parent programme on site. Children do not need advanced math skills or perfect language skills. The format is designed for different levels and multilingual families.
Educators can visit the festival, observe the learning stations, and discuss how similar playful math and STEM activities could be brought into schools.
Volunteers and university students can join as mentors, station guides, or team supporters. We provide preparation and clear roles before the event.
Organizations, municipalities, and companies can start by supporting one concrete part of the festival: a science station, maker zone, family challenge, volunteer team, or post-event engagement program. The best first step is to partner with us for EO STEM Jam 2026 at Dipoli, Aalto University, and use it as a practical pilot for longer-term cooperation.
