National Teachers' Day Giveaway
It's National Teachers' Day. Celebrate with us as we honor our educators! Simply go to our Facebook page and follow the instructions on the post pinned today. You'll be entered in a giveaway to win a CreoPop 3D Printing Pen. Good luck! Again, you have to enter through Facebook. ...
What Leonardo da Vinci Can Tell Us About STEM vs STEAM
While April 15 is generally known as Tax Day, it also is the birthday of one of history’s great inventors: Leonardo da Vinci. A pioneer in many fields, Leonardo da Vinci is a great lens through which to view a popular debate -- is STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or STEAM (those emphases with the inclusion of...
Five Cool Science Experiments to Watch on YouTube
style="padding-left: 30px;">The case for cool science. One of the amazing things about the internet is how accessible its information can be. As adolescents become more and more immersed in their social media apps, smartphones, and tablets, the manner in which these young people view scientific breakthroughs is very unique. Experiments...
Students Get on the Fast-Track to Space Exploration
On July 6, students watched as NASA Astronaut Dr. Kate Rubins launched to the International Space Station. During her coming months on the ISS, she’ll be the first person to sequence DNA in space and will conduct other important biological experiments. These students, though, had a special reason to cheer for Rubins as she lifted off...
Camp Invention Inspires Future Innovators
What does it take for a kid to become the next Thomas Edison? According to one of today’s greatest American inventors, just some string, tape, and pipe cleaners… and an environment in which to play and learn. “Kids see a need and then go get stuff to fulfill that need,” says Steve Sasson, inventor of the digital camera....
The Key to Engaging Girls in STEM: Start Young
Antiquated representations of STEM fields (often men in lab coats doing boring, repetitious work) are persistent in today’s media and culture. The result has been a preconceived notion among young learners that being an engineer, mathematician, computer scientist, or even a doctor is not something they can or should achieve. The...
Veritasium and the Puzzle of YouTube Education
In Good Will Hunting, there’s a scene where our eponymous working class character confronts a Harvard snob with the hard truth of his pricey education: “You dropped 150 grand on an education you could’ve gotten for a $1.50 in late charges at the public library.” The populist notes of the film ring out. There’s a swell of...
Alyssa Carson Astronaut in Training: Destined for Mars
Alyssa Carson is one of the most focused children on the planet and may be leaving this one for Mars. Truly an astronaut in training, Alyssa’s already a leader and role-model for people all over the world. Alyssa Carson has a story that is contagious. In a world where young women rarely gain global popularity for their...
Children Can Now Program Doorbells And Burglar Alarms
When you think of educational toys, building blocks and games that teach children the sounds farm animals make generally come to mind. However, with the growth of STEM education, children have begun learning much more complex, interesting skills through playtime. And, although it may come as a bit of a surprise, those skills now include...
Digital Natives Can't Evaluate Web Credibility
Digital natives have a much easier time sharing a Facebook video or retweeting a funny meme than evaluating the bias and credibility of the original content, according researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Education. The Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) released the report, which shows that students struggled to...
Challenge Accepted: STEM and Video Game Design
“STEM” is occasionally interpreted as a reference to the stem cell research boom, but the acronym (also written as “STEAM” or “STREAM”) actually refers to the academic fields of Natural Science, Technology, Engineering, and (Applied) Mathematics, and sometimes includes Robotics as well. These areas encompass a wide...
Emily Calandrelli, The Space Gal
Bill Nye. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Michio Kaku. These three scientific ambassadors have much in common (including an appearance in these pages). They are all storytellers of science, raconteurs of rationalism – each with personalities engaging enough to turn hour-long lectures on physics into YouTube hits with views in the millions....
Physicist Michio Kaku on STEM Education
Superstar physicist Michio Kaku recently sat down Innovation & Tech Today for a sprawling interview on education and future tech for our stellar fall issue, which you can get at Barnes & Nobles everywhere. As one of the faces of popular science, Kaku is uniquely positioned to supply advice on how to engage young minds. I&T...
The Learning Game: Our Interview with Bill Ritchie of ThinkFun
As President and Co-Founder of the educational game company ThinkFun, Bill Ritchie has his finger on the pulse of early STEM education. In this interview, we chat with this innovator to discuss how turning education into a game is not only more beneficial, but more natural. I&T Today: Tell us about the creative process in...
An Academic Robin Hood
A Russian researcher recently pulled off one of the largest ever heists. But she wasn’t stealing diamonds or priceless art; rather she stole academic knowledge and gave it away free to every person in the world. Those outside of the university world may be surprised to learn that accessing academic papers is a very costly...
The Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge: How STEM Students Change America
According to the World Economic Forum, infrastructure in the United States is ranked 11th globally. Roads are crumbling, bridges are deficient, and water pipelines are leaking. Infrastructure stakeholders are investing significant time and resources to bring attention to the infrastructure challenges that confront the United States. The...
Demystifying the Code World for Women
I was mainly drawn to coding because it scared me. It seemed like an insurmountable task, only possible for the select few genius “techies.” And that group, I assumed, did not include me. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something I originally believed I couldn’t. If we begin to shatter some of our former beliefs about...
Interview: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on Politics and AI
Neil deGrasse Tyson is the most popular astrophysicist in the world. The three-time Emmy-nominated Astrophysicist and Ph.D. has nearly countless awards and honors (including ‘100 Most Influential People of the Year’ by Time in 2007 and ‘Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive’ by People in 2000), as well as honorary degrees from CUNY,...
