GE Girls in Madison Delivers STEM-tastic Skills to Local Girls
From Wonder Woman to GE Girls, it is turning out to be the summer of girl power. GE Girls engages middle school students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to boost their interest in STEM at a critical time in their development – a time when girls often turn away from these subjects. It is a community service program...
Challenge Accepted: STEM Education 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 variety of...
Does Edutainment Work?
Ever since we took our first stroll down Sesame Street, searched the world for Carmen Sandiego, or rode the Magical School Bus, the lines between education and entertainment have been blurred. Edutainment, as you may have guessed, is the blending of education and entertainment, notably in the form of television programs and video...
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...
The Social Impact Exchange: Lumity
During the 2016-2017 school year, more than 300 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals donated over 1,700 hours to engage students with STEM education through Lumity, an organization dedicated to providing teens and young adults in underserved communities with transformational experiences, preparing them...
Top Ways for Kids to be Actively Involved in STEM Education
STEM education is a hot topic, as educators, politicians, and advocates push for a bigger focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. Organizations such as the STEM Education Coalition and the USA Science and Engineering Festival fight to protect the vital role that STEM education plays in society so that the United States can...
Do STEM Initiatives Emphasize the 'Right Stuff'?
OK, I’m fast approaching 62 and have inherited my parents’ snow white hair, so maybe I am beginning to believe we may have an impending “gap” in the aerospace workforce. I graduated from college in 1978 with an engineering degree and worked for many years in engineering and engineering management positions. At age 56, I retired,...
So Much Inspiration, So Little Time: The Story of MinutePhysics
There is no doubt that Henry Reich is a physicist. He has training in both math and theoretical physics from Grinell college, along with a master’s from the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario. He was planning on pursuing a Ph.D. as well, but something stopped him: making videos on YouTube. Reich is...
Danni Washington Shows Us What Real Science Communication Looks Like
Fans of science fiction are no doubt familiar with the opening lines of Star Trek: “Space, the final frontier…To boldly go where no one has gone before.” But, in our frenzied enthusiasm to explore other worlds, we may have neglected our own. Space is certainly a frontier, but to hear Danni Washington tell it, we should be looking...
Grammy Winner NE-YO to Sponsor Summer Coding Camp
Grammy Winner NE-YO to Sponsor Summer Coding Camp in San Francisco Eight local youths will build a website, visit local tech businesses in 3-week free course at Holberton School, and best thing -- NO TEACHERS SAN FRANCISCO, CA-- May 30, 2017-- Grammy Award winner NE-YO will sponsor a summer coding camp at the Holberton School, the...
Putting the ‘Science’ in Science Fiction with Taryn O'Neill
Taryn O'Neill originally from Vancouver, is an actress, writer, web series producer, and lover of STEM. In fact, she formed a group of like-minded actresses called the Scirens: Screen Sirens for Science (made up of her, Gia Mora, Tamara Krinsky, and Christina Ochoa), whose mission is to advocate for science literacy, be that...
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...
