STEM Resources
The CT After School Network is proud to be a part of the Million Girls Moonshot initiative, working to inspire and prepare the next generation of innovators by engaging one million more girls in STEM learning opportunities through afterschool and summer programs.
The Million Girls Moonshot will not only allow girls to envision themselves as future innovators, but it will increase the quality of out-of-school STEM learning opportunities for all young people, particularly underserved and underrepresented youth.
About the Million Girls Moonshot
The Moonshot is designed to spur girls’ interest, understanding, and confidence in STEM and equip them to become problem solvers with an engineering mindset. Led nationally by the STEM Next Opportunity Fund and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in partnership with the Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Million Girls Moonshot:
- Leverages afterschool networks in all 50 states to help school-age girls access high-quality STEM education, support, and mentors.
- Uses an equity and inclusion framework that is youth-centric and culturally responsive to increase gender, and racial and socio-economic diversity in STEM.
- Provides resources, support, mentorship, and expert guidance to help educators deliver hands-on STEM experiences in afterschool, out-of-school time, and summer learning programs.
Click here to take the National Afterschool STEM Program Survey
MGM Engineering Mindset
Mindset 1: Children consider problems in context
Mindset 3: Children investigate the properties and uses of materials
Mindset 4: Children consider constraints and criteria that require trade-offs
Mindset 5: Children envision multiple solutions
Mindset 6: Children apply science and math knowledge to problem solving
Mindset 8: Children persist and learn from failure
Mindset 9: Children work effectively in teams
Mindset 10: Children envision themselves as engineers
Other Resources
Equity and Inclusion
- We Rep STEM – STEM Profile – Joy James – We’ve said it time and again: Representation matters. That’s especially true for children, whose perceptions of the world are based, in part, on the things they see. When Joy James set out to write her book, 101 Brilliant Black Inventors and their Inventions, she wanted to create something that would inspire her young children. The end result – an in-depth celebration of the achievements of Black innovators.
Engineering Mindset
- What is Environmental Engineering? – Curious about what environmental engineering is, and what an environmental engineer does? Read on to find out! We’ve even got a hands-on environmental project for you—and it’s delicious. (Yes, delicious!)
- Epic Fail! Working to Reframe the Concept of Failing – Ways to make engineering and inventing accessible and exciting through celebrating failure.
Incorporating Role Models
- Incorporating the Stories of Women, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ Scientists Into the Physics Classroom – Short article from NSTA about the contributions of women, people of color, and other diverse scientists to the field of Physics. Includes a link to lesson plans for lesson plans that could be adapted for K9-12.
- Role Models, Mentors, and Sponsors – What’s in a Name? – Identify the differences between role models, mentors, and sponsors and how to utilize each.
Family Engagement
- Educational Justice Starts with Equitable Family Engagement by Riddhi Divanji, Ella Shahn, and Sydney Parker – Designing surveys and sharing data with a wide range of stakeholders results in a deeper understanding of the data from multiple perspectives.
- ‘I’m not just a mom’: Parents as creators, collaborators, and learners in creative computing by Ricarose Roque – Social support from parents can play an important role in engaging and sustaining young people’s participation in computing. The authors identified many supportive roles for parents, including collaborating with their children on projects, providing resources and finding new opportunities.
- Educational Justice Starts with Equitable Family Engagement by Riddhi Divanji, Ella Shahn, and Sydney Parker – Designing surveys and sharing data with a wide range of stakeholders results in a deeper understanding of the data from multiple perspectives.
- ‘I’m not just a mom’: Parents as creators, collaborators, and learners in creative computing by Ricarose Roque – Social support from parents can play an important role in engaging and sustaining young people’s participation in computing. The authors identified many supportive roles for parents, including collaborating with their children on projects, providing resources and finding new opportunities.
MGM Projects & Activities
After-School Science PLUS – Download Building with Wonderful Junk and take the challenge! Build a bridge or a platform that meets a set of requirements and test it. Challenge the kids to add to the activity (For example build a bridge that will hold a student up 6 inches from the floor).
Design Squad: Invent it, Build It: Making the world a better place – Research tells us that when kids think their activity helps others it increases engagement. Activities encourage kids to think of themselves as inventors, discuss inventing and engineering, and dispels the stereotype that engineering is boring.
4 Great Outdoor Activities to Do With Kids This Summer – These easy activities are designed to be suitable in a COVID conscious environment. Young children play outdoor games, plant a garden, make ice cream, and participate in a scavenger hunt.
Engineering Ocean Currents – This is a fun and interactive activity that is designed to enhance student understanding of the engineering design process.
Engineering a Fix for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – This activity encourages youth to use engineering to take care of the planet.
Events
PEAR is offering DoS trainings and two years of ongoing technical assistance, quarterly data reports, and online data management support for all DoS observers for two years post-certification. Learn more about this opportunity here: https://bit.ly/36R1gSw
Interested in learning about DoS-PPT, a free resource for facilitators of out-of-school and in-school STEM learning programs? Learn more about free trainings in August from PEAR: https://bit.ly/3N6mhsr
If you’re an educator new to STEM, don’t miss the ACRES “Ready, Set, STEM! & Asking Purposeful Questions” cohort this spring → https://bit.ly/3jjhmaB https://bit.ly/3jjhmaB
Role Models Matters, Training for STEM Volunteers – Ready to train volunteers and role models in your Network, school, or afterschool program? COMPLETE THIS REGISTRATION FORM to gain access to the Role Models Matter training developed by Techbridge Girls
Recordings
The M in STEM: Math in Everyday Life – Learn how to recognize and embrace authentic math moments in everyday life, including afterschool spaces.
Families & STEAM: Strengthening Relationships & Building Partnerships – Family engagement in STEAM can come in many forms. STEAM nights, science fairs, family newsletters, etc. But how can you move into a deeper partnership with families in the service of STEAM learning? In this webinar, we’ll hear from practitioners and researchers who are working to deepen engagement with youth and their families to intentionally support equity in and access to STEAM opportunities. You will hear about strategies, examples, and current research, and will have the opportunity to ask questions.