Can you muffle the sound of a jingle bell using a variety of Christmas-themed items? Explore your sense of hearing – and learn about the 1965 astronauts who played Jingle Bells in space – in this simple activity designed for preK-5 students.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Special Features | Comments Off on Jingle Bell Silencer Challenge

Tags: astronauts, Class Activities, design challenge, Grades K-5, jingle bells, Tom Stafford, Wally Schirra

Not comfortable teaching computer science? Join the crowd – but not for long. With well-paying tech jobs across the country going begging, states, local school districts, and the federal government are making computer science education a priority.

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Filed under: K-12 Education News, K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | Comments Off on Computer Science for All Schools?

Tags: Computer Science, Computer Science for All, Congressional app challenge, Public Policy, state education policy, STEM education, STEM jobs

Spider-Man’s creator, Stan Lee, finds inspiration in STEM. And he hopes students in grades 6 to 12 will, too, by dreaming up comics or short videos in the National Science Foundation’s Generation Nano: Superheroes Inspired by Science competition. Top entries can win up to $1,500 in scholarships, with $500 stipends for teachers. Enter by January 8, 2018.

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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | Comments Off on Generation Nano Superhero Challenge

Tags: comic books, Competitions for Students, Contest, Generation Nano, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, National Science Foundation, scholarships, Stan Lee, STEAM, STEM education, STEM superheroes, USA Science and Engineering Festival 2018, Video contest

Want to inspire your students? Join millions in celebrating Computer Science Education Week – and computer pioneer Grace Hopper’s birthday – from December 4 to 10 this year by hosting an Hour of Code or other fun activity.

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Filed under: Class Activities, K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features, Web Resources | Comments Off on Computer Science Education Week 2017

Tags: Class Activities, coding, Computer Science, Computer Science Education Week 2017, hour of code, Internet Resources, programming, Resources for Teachers, Web Resources

What do computer pioneer Ada Lovelace, Hitler’s atomic bomb effort, and the Slinky have in common? All are among the National Science Teachers Association’s inaugural list of 31 Best STEM Books for 2017.

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Tags: Ada Lovelace, ASEE, Benjamin Banneker, Best STEM Books, children's books, coding, Engineering, Jack Andraka, NSTA, Pamela Lottero-Perdue, STEM education, Web Resources

Middle and high school students follow the engineering design process to create wearable devices to monitor the health of humans, animals, or both in this competition sponsored by North Carolina State University’s Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST). The program includes teacher training and lesson plans to help implement the design challenge. Register teams by Feb. 15, 2018.

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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs | Comments Off on Wearable Device Challenge

Tags: Biomedical Engineering, Competitions for Students, Contest, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Design Process, environment, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Health, Lesson Plans, sensors, Teacher Training, wearable technology

In this lesson on using mathematical modeling to solve real-world problems, middle and high school students work in teams to build a graph/model of their city map, then try to solve a real problem based on the model. They evaluate their solutions and present their reflections to the class.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Choose Your Best Way

Tags: algorithm, Class Activities, Computer Science, Euler, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, graph theory, Lesson Plan, mathematical modeling, Mathematics, network science, NGSS, programming, Seven Bridges of Konigsburg, traveling salesman problem

“Engineering for your Community” is the theme of the National Academy of Engineering’s 2018 EngineerGirl! Essay Contest. Girls and boys in grades 3 to 12 can win up to $500 for writing pleas to persuade local or national officials to improve such infrastructure such as roads, trash collection, and the 9-1-1 emergency response system.

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Filed under: K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | Comments Off on EngineerGirl Essay Contest 2018

Tags: Competitions for Students, Contest, EngineerGirl, Essay Competition, Essay Contest, literacy, National Academy of Engineering, writing

Students follow the engineering design process to design and build a usable device to propel school T-shirts up into the stands during home sporting events while keeping costs under budget.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Flying T-Shirt Challenge

Tags: catapult, cheerleaders, Class Activities, Engineering Design Process, forces, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plan, maker challenges, motion, Physics, Sports, T-shirt cannon, teachengineering, tools