From Creating to Coding: STEM in the Summertime
July 16, 2014
School may be out, but there are plenty of fun learning opportunities that teachers, parents, and students can take advantage of over the summer! Here are just a handful of awesome STEM initiatives and activities to keep minds sharp and ready to take on the new school year:
•Maker Camp 2014: The Maker movement is dedicated to inspiring young minds to engage with technology to reshape and enhance the world around them, and they’vepartnered with Google to make sure students can get involved no matter where they live! Maker Camp connects kids and inventors from across the world to build and create all sorts of STEM projects, ranging from rockets to robots.
•Jr. Tech Workshops: Jr. Tech’s mission is to help support and encourage girls across the state of Massachusetts to pursue degrees and careers in STEM, and they’re doing so by hosting specialized workshops in fields like animation creation and computer game development.
•The STEM Activity App: To reduce summer learning loss, the STEM Activity App, developed by the Wheelock College Aspire Institute, is releasing new activities to support families in making summer an engaging learning opportunity. Families registering for this summer web application receive two activities per week. Featured activities include designing your own airplane and figuring out what materials can best insulate an ice cube.
•Hour of Code: We’ve covered the Hour of Code before, and since its launch, nearly 40 million people have tried it out. Computer science develops students’ computational and critical thinking skills—which are important regardless of their ultimate field of study or occupation. No matter the grade level or time of year, coding offers something for everyone.
•Discovery Education STEM Camp: As a part of their “connect the dots” STEM initiative, The Discovery Channel has launched a series of online resources for districts, schools, teachers, and parents to use throughout the entire year – and they’re available for free! Explore an urban infrastructure, or see how clean energy works, all from the convenience of your home.
Of course, NMSI is currently training thousands of teachers across the United States this summer, from Alaska to Indiana – and there’s still time to register for training before the 2014-15 school year starts! Click the button below to find a training location near you, and be sure to let us know how you’re spending your summer with STEM.