As part of our ongoing collaborations with NASA, we are thrilled to announce that EiE will be continuing and expanding upon our free PLANETS STEM curricula and resources.

 

Last week, in partnership with the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council and the Executive Office of Education, we celebrated Mass STEM Week 2020 with you!

We offered a full schedule of events including office hours with the Museum of Science and EiE team, mentoring sessions with Engineers and Scientists from across the state of Massachusetts, and a celebration webinar featuring Massachusetts’ Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito and Secretary of Education James Peyser.

Read more to learn about or find recordings of the Engineering Design Challenges, Engineer and Scientist Mentor sessions, and Mass STEM Week Celebration Webinar.

According to EdWeek, STEM jobs are predicted to grow at a faster rate between 2014 and 2024 than jobs overall. With these stats, districts need STEM curricula that unlock important 21st century skills and open doors to a world of possibilities for their students. Engineering provides opportunities for schools and districts to do just that.

With sixty-five percent of scientists and graduate students surveyed reporting their interest in science began before middle school (it always existed or began in elementary school), it’s becoming more and more crucial to start engineering instruction early. Schools need to get kids into the engineering pipeline when they’re young, before it becomes an afterthought.

Young learners are natural engineers, ready to innovate and eager to explore the world around them. Extending our curricula offerings to the youngest learners and creating an engineering design process for the preschool classroom seemed like a natural next step for EiE. Our newest curricula, Wee Engineer and EiE for Kindergarten, are picking up press  With our recent feature in T.H.E. Journal, we were reminded how much we couldn’t have created our newest offerings without our closest collaborators: educators! Every EiE unit undergoes multiple rounds of pilot testing to ensure that educators can implement engineering with ease. Our pilot educators teach in a variety of settings and have varying levels of experience with engineering. With their feedback and guidance, we’ve learned so much about how to design hands-on engineering activities for preschoolers and kindergartners. Hear from these passionate educators, download free sample lessons from Wee Engineer and EiE for Kindergarten, and create a generation of problem solvers.

In every EiE unit, we challenge students to solve a real-world problem with the Engineering Design Process. But around our favorite holidays, we can’t help but brainstorm fantastical design challenge contexts that fit the season. This past spring, we suggested out-of-this-world EiE modifications for Star Wars Day. This month, we’re bringing you some Halloween-themed modifications for spooky engineering fun in your classroom!