Rural youth may have a distinct vantage point on STEM issues in their community, and if STEM interest is developed at a young age, the likelihood of solving these in adulthood may occur. Therefore, a place-conscious informal STEM program was developed to be delivered to youth ages eight to twelve in rural communities. Qualitative methods, including focus groups, were used to study interest development. These focus groups provided subtle details of how the interest developed. The results indicated an increase in participants' STEM interests.