We’ve been very excited to roll out our new online professional development offerings over the past few months—we’ve conducted webinars about habits of mind and engineering in out-of-school time and we’ve had some amazing discussions with educators around the country about STEM integration and ELA connections. Now, we’re ready to take online PD to the next level with the very first online workshop series this summer. We’re looking for a small group of highly motivated teachers to help us pilot test this new experience. If you are selected, you’ll receive a scholarship that includes:

• three online professional development sessions
• an EiE teacher guide of your choice
• the EiE materials kit for the unit
• a classroom set of 24 storybooks for the unit
• a $150 stipend for your feedback about the experience

March is an exciting time here in Boston—the snow is melting, spring is nearly here, and we’re ready to hit the road for conference season! We love meeting EiE educators, answering your burning questions, and finding out about the amazing things you’re doing in your own classrooms or districts. And when you come visit us at a conference, you’re guaranteed to have fun and learn something new. Find our booths to check out our new materials kits or ask us about a new project you’re excited about (like early childhood engineering or digital storybooks). And visit our hands-on sessions, where you’ll get the chance to get your hands dirty and dive deep into some of our tried-and-true (and brand new) engineering design challenges. Check out our spring schedule to find out where and when we’ll be in your area, and let us know if we’ll see you there!

Have you tried our afterschool curricula, Engineering Adventures and Engineering Everywhere? These out-of-school-time (OST) units challenge kids to solve real-world problems using the engineering design process. Educators are always welcome to download these units for free and source the materials, but we also offer printed binders and materials kits in our store for easy implementation. Check out the two newest units available to purchase—Music to My Ears: An Acoustical Engineering Challenge and Growing Up: Engineering Vertical Farms.

Here at EiE, we’ve found that kids are most engaged with engineering when they’re working on problems that connect to their own lives. That’s why we designed our out-of-school-time curricula, Engineering Adventures and Engineering Everywhere, to guide them through the engineering design process as it applies to a real-world problem. We’ve already put together a list of additional real-world resources for each Engineering Adventures unit (Engineering Everywhere resources are under development!), but the EiE staff is always on the lookout for even more relevant content to help inspire your young engineers. Check out these compelling connections, share them with your kids, and show them that you can find engineering . . . everywhere!

Teachers often tell us that kids gravitate towards engineering when they learn how engineers help people. EiE’s real-world connections are often focused on helping others, and our civil engineering units exemplify that. Civil engineering is an exciting field for kids to consider: they all have experience with buildings and infrastructure, and they may not be aware of the career opportunities available to civil engineers. As infrastructure in the United States ages, the need for skilled civil engineers increases—the US Department of Labor projects that the demand for civil engineers will increase 8% by 2024. These five in-school and out-of-school-time units could kick-start an interest in civil engineering for your kids, and show them how some innovative engineering can help countless people.