STEM Action Center honors winners of Utah 3D coin design contest


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KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • STEM Action Center honored winners of Utah's 3D coin design contest.
  • Participants of all ages created coins representing Utah's history and culture.
  • Winning designs, judged on creativity and originality, are displayed at the center.

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Utah's history is getting a high-tech twist. The STEM Action Center honored winners of a statewide 3D coin design contest celebrating America's 250th anniversary.

The history of Utah can be told in a lot of ways. The America250 Utah 3D Coin Design Contest gave participants the opportunity to tell those stories through 3D-printed coin designs created by people from across the state.

The STEM Action Center recognized winners of its America250 Utah 3D Coin Design Contest, where participants as young as 5 created coins representing the history, culture and landmarks of counties across the state.

"My coin is about this place in Washington County. Washington County is special because it's the only place in Utah that has such beautiful, gorgeous red rocks," a winner of the contest, Aly Bowes, said.

Aly Bowes' 3D-printed coin that she designed for the Utah 3D Coin Design Contest is pictured on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
Aly Bowes' 3D-printed coin that she designed for the Utah 3D Coin Design Contest is pictured on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (Photo: Derek Peterson, KSL)

"My coin is of Grand County. I have Delicate Arch here, and I also have the famous mountains in the background," said Jayden Jiang.

Organizers said the contest gave people a chance to learn new STEM skills while celebrating the places and stories that make Utah unique. Winning designs were judged on creativity, originality and how well they represented their county.

"It's a creative outlet for anyone. What's beautiful is that there's really no age limit. You can take your 6-year-old and come with them and learn and create along with someone my age." Jenalee Marshall said.

The winning designs were brought to life with 3D printers and are now on display. Some could even become part of a future museum exhibit celebrating America's 250th anniversary.

Jayden Jiang's 3D-printed coin that he designed for the Utah 3D Coin Design Contest is pictured on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
Jayden Jiang's 3D-printed coin that he designed for the Utah 3D Coin Design Contest is pictured on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (Photo: Derek Peterson, KSL)

"We entered into the coin contest ... and then they made their own coins. So, I made this one, and I didn't think I'd win anything, but I did, and I'm pretty proud." Neel Parlapalli said.

Whether inspired by Utah's history, landscapes or hometown traditions, each coin offers a unique look at the state's past through the eyes of its creators. The contest was open to Utahns of all ages, and the winning designs are now on display at the STEM Action Center.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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