Robots, virtual reality headsets, and hands-on chip-tech exhibits are taking over the University of North Florida campus this weekend, as UNF and the University of Florida's Florida Semiconductor Institute team up for a free community event aimed at Jacksonville's youngest future engineers. STEM on the Lawn runs from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 24 at the J.B. Coxwell Amphitheater, and it's open to K-12 students and their families at no cost.
UNF announced the event on October 19, and Action News Jax reported on it on October 20. University, industry, and regional science organization exhibits will spread across the amphitheater grounds. Attendees can watch engineering demonstrations, interact with robots, try virtual reality experiences, and pick up information about academic and career paths in technical fields. Activities are specifically designed to highlight how semiconductors power everyday technology, giving kids a tangible entry point into an industry most only encounter through the gadgets in their pockets.
The amphitheater itself is no small backdrop. Built with labor and materials donated by Jacksonville contractor J.B. Coxwell, the open-air venue opened in August 2010 and spans 100,000 square feet with sloped seating for up to 6,000 spectators, according to the University of North Florida. UNF itself enrolls more than 18,900 students across six colleges on a 1,381-acre campus, per the same report from Action News Jax.
A Statewide Chip Strategy Lands on Campus
STEM on the Lawn isn't happening in a vacuum. The event is a public-facing touchpoint for a much larger, state- and federally-backed campaign to turn Florida into a national semiconductor manufacturing hub, according to the University of North Florida. The Florida Semiconductor Institute, UF's co-host for the event, was established in October 2023 as a statewide hub for microchip research and workforce development, at a point when Florida already ranked fifth nationally in semiconductor workforce size, as detailed by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
That mandate came with serious money behind it. Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida's 2024–25 state budget in June 2024, committing $80 million in state funding to build out the institute's manufacturing and workforce training capabilities, with the legislation targeting advanced chip packaging, artificial intelligence, and technician training, according to UF's Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. UF separately secured $20 million in 2024 under the federal CHIPS for America Act to lead the Florida and Caribbean regional hub of the SMART USA Institute, a nationwide $285 million program that uses digital twin simulation to reduce chip development costs and accelerate training.
UNF's Own Quantum Push Joins the Lawn
UNF brought its own high-tech credentials to the table this fall. The university's Quantum Initiative, launched in September 2026 to promote research, education, and industry partnerships, had faculty and students from its Department of Physics and Astronomy taking part directly in STEM on the Lawn, according to UNF's Department of Physics and Astronomy. UNF offers undergraduate degrees in physics and astronomy as well as a master's program in materials science and engineering, giving the university a direct academic pipeline into the fields the event is designed to promote.
Florida's broader semiconductor investments stretch well beyond Jacksonville and Gainesville. In July 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded up to $6.7 million in preliminary CHIPS Act funding to Rogue Valley Microdevices to build a sensor foundry in Palm Bay — the first federal CHIPS grant ever awarded to a women- and minority-owned business, per the Florida Semiconductor Institute. The investment is intended to nearly triple production of specialized sensors used in defense and commercial applications. The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund administered $28 million in federal CHIPS and Science Act grant funding for five regional semiconductor workforce projects, including $17.5 million for a chip testing and lab facility at Osceola County's NeoCity campus, according to The Capitolist.
Jacksonville's Own Training Pipeline Grows
Locally, Jacksonville has been building its own rungs on that talent ladder. Florida State College at Jacksonville opened the state's first fully automated semiconductor workforce training lab last month, backed by a $2.3 million state capitalization grant and featuring 14 automated workstations for wafer handling, industrial robotics, and AI quality inspection, as Hoodline reported in its piece on the new FSCJ training lab. That facility arrived just weeks before STEM on the Lawn, reinforcing the sense that Jacksonville's high-tech workforce push is accelerating on multiple fronts at once.
Younger students have been getting similar exposure. Duval County Public Schools opened its “STEM Forge” 3D printing lab at A. Philip Randolph Career Academies in January, using federal defense grants and local corporate support to give elementary students early hands-on access to advanced technology, with district educators designing the facility to shift young students from technology consumers to technical creators.
STEM on the Lawn gives children an early chance to try a VR headset or steer a robot across the amphitheater lawn and imagine a future career in technology.
