Monthly Archives: October 2020

Application deadlines for DiscoverE's outreach grants are approaching fast! Don't miss your chance to fund your events for Engineers Week and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. APPLY TODAY! We have $250-$1000 grants available for virtual and in-person programs: Due Oct 31: Bell Girl Day grants for girl-centered programs Due Nov 14: Engineers Week grants for underserved students Looking for more resources in engineering outreach? Check out our best practices for achieving diversity in engineering and how to be a (virtual) role model.

Have you felt like remote learning during COVID-19 has been hectic and stressful? You are not alone and it doesn’t have to feel that way going forward. Join MMSA's ACRES Project today and participate in highly interactive coaching sessions. The ACRES Project brings together afterschool educators in live and interactive virtual workshops. They create small communities of reflection, so you have a safe and brave space to learn new skills. They offer you contact hours, certificates of attendance, and many ready to use resources.  And they are excited to announce... stipends are still available and new cohorts are starting soon! In response to COVID19,  a [...]

STEAM Learning in Public Libraries: A "Guide on the Side" Approach for Inclusive Learning Webinar Resources Presenters: Brooks Mitchell, Education Coordinator II, STAR Net/Space Science Institute bmitchell@spacescience.org Claire Ratcliffe Adams, Education Coordinator II, STAR Net/Space Science Institute cratcliffe@spacescience.org Keliann LaConte, Professional Development Manager, STAR Net/Space Science Institute klaconte@spacescience.org   Publication Resources Association for Library Service to Children Children & Libraries journal Article: STEAM Learning in Public Libraries: A “Guide on the Side” Approach for Inclusive Learning The STAR Library Network (STAR Net) Guide on the Side website Guide on the Side video Guide on the Side flyer STEM Activity Clearinghouse: Interactive STEAM Activities [...]

If you are al all like me, you have been revisiting how to best present STEAM programming in the current COVID-19 environment. While every town has different levels of protocols in place, most in-person events have been put on hold, and while I have had a lot of success with some online events, I know young people are more engaged by hands-on activities. I have two opportunities I would like to share with you. CrowdMag is a free app developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), available for iOS and Android devices.  From the NOAA website, "...we explore whether [...]

Moving our STEAM Engines programming to an online, recorded format has been a treat and a learning experience as we struggle to find relatable, interesting content for kids each month. In person, it is important to me to root our STEM concept in art, literature, and music, so I typically begin each program with a read-aloud. As we have moved the program online, copyright has made finding supplementary reading and music more challenging. With that in mind, the format that I’ve settled into involves a basic STEAM concept, a short, silly, original song or story to reinforce the concept, and a [...]

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is partnering with the STAR Library Network (STAR Net) and its Project BUILD engineering program. Project BUILD is supported by the National Science Foundation. We invite public libraries across the country to participate in an exciting virtual engineering experience this coming November called Dream – Build – Create, an introduction to engineers and engineering for people of all ages, especially families and children. This inspirational program will offer libraries and their patrons a free film screening of the award-winning documentary Dream Big: Engineering Our World, produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films in partnership with ASCE. [...]