This project uses tech and a place-based, community-engaged approach to examine attitudes toward STEM. Initially focused on student, teacher and community attitudes and behaviors, pandemic-related timeline and implementation adjustments provided an opportunity to also examine how we engaged with each other and with community members in three rural Alaska sites. Questions: How does a place-based STEM curriculum engage students, educators and communities to envision/apply STEM in different contexts? (a) How does training & collaboration develop educator competence/confidence in developing a culturally responsive STEM praxis? (b) How do Elders & communities exercise self-determination and ethos of place-based education in guiding project-based STEM curriculum development? c) How do interdisciplinary teams collaborate, communicate, and learn from one another when working on a community engagement project? Conclusion: Alaska is a rich context for place-based interventions. However, care must be taken throughout the life of a project to ensure community perspectives and concerns are identified, acknowledged and prioritized. Observations and interviews with participants have led to improved understandings about the value of authenticity in teamwork; how students and their teachers respond to place-based, technology-rich programs; and how Indigenous and rural communities embrace projects blending local knowledge and university science through co-production methods.