BOISE — Hundreds of Idahoans, including Rep. Jim Addis from Coeur d’Alene, Rep. Tony Wisniewski from Post Falls, and Hecla Mining Co. director of continuous improvement Jeff Rosser, converged at the State Capitol last week for the fifth annual STEM Matters! celebration.

Organized by the Idaho STEM Action Center — which counts Rosser among its board members — the event attracted students, educators, elected officials, businesses, and STEM advocates from across the state. Kids taught lawmakers how to code, explore virtual reality, design electronic circuits with Play-Doh, and interact with robots and drones.

FIRST Robotics teams demonstrated a variety of automatons, the World Center for Birds of Prey introduced guests to several raptors, and kids were able to interact with the International Space Station and pilot a Mars rover via a virtual-reality headset. They also got to hear Idaho Gov. Brad Little and other state leaders discuss the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and careers.

According to STEM Action Center executive director Dr. Angela Hemingway, STEM knowledge and skills are important to the future of Idaho, because they’re needed for critical and creative thinking, problem solving, innovation, and collaboration.

“The state anticipates 20 percent job growth in STEM careers, including health care, computing, engineering, and advanced manufacturing, by 2026,” Dr. Hemingway said. “Currently there are nearly 86,000 STEM workers statewide, and the Idaho Department of Labor predicts we may have 105,000 STEM jobs by 2026 — just six years from now. It is critical we build the STEM talent pipeline now so Idahoans have the knowledge and skills required to fill these high-demand STEM jobs in the future.”

She said these jobs represent about $7 billion in personal income and about $352 million in tax revenue if Idaho’s workforce is poised to fill them.

The Idaho Department of Labor reports 19 of the 20 predicted hot jobs throughout Idaho (2016-2026) require STEM skills, including registered nurses, software developers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, information security analysts, industrial machinery mechanics, market research analysts, pharmacists, physical therapists, loan officers, respiratory therapists, healthcare social workers, industrial engineers, occupational therapists, management analysts, accountants and auditors, diagnostic medical sonographers, cost estimators, and radiologic technologists.

The Idaho STEM Action Center was created in 2015 because Idaho citizens are not entering the STEM pipeline fast enough to meet current and future Idaho workforce needs. Its goals are to increase access to STEM opportunities, align education and workforce needs, and amplify awareness of STEM throughout Idaho.