The world faces grave environmental challenges—climate change, pollution, overpopulation, loss of biodiversity, or ozone layer depletion—that we can address only with STEM knowledge and skills. That’s why the National Environmental Education Foundation created Environmental Education Week (EE Week) to promote environmental learning for kids in grades K – 12. This year's Environmental Education week starts Monday, April 23rd through Sunday, April 29th. How will YOU celebrate? We’re pleased to share seven curriculum units from the EiE afterschool programs Engineering Adventures and Engineering Everywhere that fit perfectly with the themes and goals of EE Week, call for inexpensive materials you probably have on hand already, and are super fun! 

Maybe you’ve had this frustrating experience: You’ve identified a curriculum that you’re excited about. You feel confident it will help your school meet STEM education goals AND it will be engaging for kids. But budgets are tight and there’s no funding to make it happen. This is not the end of the story! Consider applying for a grant.

This blog was originally posted on January 7, 2016.

We’re always interested to learn how districts adopt and implement the EiE curriculum. One challenge many districts face is simply finding the funds for curriculum materials, another is building consensus and enthusiasm among teachers.

Amphitheater Unified School District in Tucson is a great example of a district that’s seeing a highly successful EiE implementation despite serious budget constraints.

Imagine this scenario. You’re doing an Engineering Adventures activity with the kids in your afterschool program. They’ve been working hard designing and testing . . . only to discover that their technology doesn’t work as planned. When that bubble wand doesn’t produce any bubbles, or the toy car made from a soda bottle doesn’t roll, don’t despair: this is a teachable moment.

When you’re getting ready to teach an Engineering is Elementary lesson—or when you’re in the middle of a lesson that extends over more than one class period—you have lots things to organize. 

Patty Whitehouse is the Engineering Lab teacher at Chicago Public Schools' Goudy Technology Academy, which means she does more organizing than most teachers. Every student in the first through fourth grades comes through her lab once a week—almost 400 students total. The school uses two or three different Engineering is Elementary units in each grade, so Patty often preps five different Engineering is Elementary lessons each day! Here’s how she stays organized: