Resources to help students learn about the contributions made by African American scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and inventors to fields from agriculture to medicine to space.

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Tags: African American scientists and engineers, Black History Month, STEM

It takes host cities a lot of time, money, and engineering to prepare for the Olympics, and Sochi, the Russian seaside resort that will welcome athletes and fans from around the world this February, is no exception. Along with luge runs and ice arenas, the area’s 218 Olympic projects include a new high-speed rail and seaport.

A recent Businessweek article estimated the total at $51 billion, making Russia’s games the costliest in history

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Tags: arena, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, infrastructure, Olympics, Safety engineering, ski lift, snow, Sochi, Sports, stadium, train, Transportation, Winter Olympics

Whether its swifter, safer bobsleds or high-performance speed-skating suits, science and engineering are as much on display at the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia. Catch the high-tech action in the latest installment of the Emmy Award-winning “Science of Sports” series from the National Science Foundation and NBC Learn.

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Tags: 2014 Olympics, athletics, Internet Resources, National Science Foundation, NBCLearn, NSF, science and engineering of sports, Sochi Olympics, STEM education, STEM videos, Web Resources, Winter Olympics

Can toys inspire more kids – especially girls – to become engineers? Purdue University mechanical engineering students think so, and they are designing and building high-tech educational toys that make science and engineering fun.

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Tags: engineering education, engineering students, Mechanical engineering, Purdue, toy engineering, toys

Ever walk through a store’s toy department and wonder: Who dreams up these action figures, games, and other fun stuff? Toy engineers do! They get to play for a living, designing and making new toys to engage or educate kids of all ages.

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Tags: action figures, Design, Engineering Design, engineers, games, Goldiblox, Ideas & Inventions, toy engineering

The DuPont Challenge is an essay competition for students in grades 7-12 that runs through January 31, 2014. It focuses on scientific and technological developments that create solutions to pressing global challenges, such as feeding the world or protecting the environment. Students and their sponsoring teachers can win more than $100,000 in awards, including a trip to Disney World and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

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Tags: competition for teachers, Competitions for Students, Contest, Dupont Challenge, Essay Contest, Resources for Teachers, STEM competition

Middle and high school students can win up to $15,000 for their school by dreaming up the most compelling concept for an education, healthcare, or energy app in the Verizon Innovative App Challenge. Deadline for submission is December 17, 2013.

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Tags: Competitions for Students, Contest, Verizon Innovative App Challenge

Computing is all around us, from movies to manufacturing to marketing. But only a handful of Americans learn how computers work or can create software, websites, or applications. Computer Science Education Week (December 9-15, 2013) aims to change that equation. This year’s effort: an Hour of Code that organizers hope will engage 10 million students.

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Tags: code writing, code.org, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, computer science education week, Grace Hopper, Public Policy, STEM education, Technology for Learning

Brigham Young University engineering student Jake Merrell has created a “smart foam” that could be placed inside the helmets of football players to measure the impact of hits to the head, and could help prevent concussions while players are int the game.

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Tags: concussions, Design, Electrical Engineering, Football, Materials Engineering, Nanotechnology