February 11 is National Inventors’ Day, a day to honor inventors of all kinds. But more than anything it’s a day to celebrate ingenuity. We’re surrounded by products, processes, and inventions that started as an idea – usually an attempt to solve a problem – and ended as something that makes our lives better in one way or another. National Inventors’ Day celebrates the creative genius in all of us.
Topics: innovate, Hands-on Learning, Maker Ed, Future Ready, STEM, IN THE CLASSROOM
When I was a kid, winter always seemed to bring at least one big snowfall every year. It’s possible these snowfalls seemed larger in comparison to the ones I see now simply because I was about two feet shorter back then, but whatever the reason, I remember engaging in numerous snowball fights over the years. As the fourth in a family of 12, and growing up in a neighborhood filled with children, I never lacked for fellow snowball fight competitors. So, I watched and learned a few tricks about packing snow to create the best snowballs and snow forts. What I didn’t know was that all this involved physics.
Topics: Physics, Hands-on Learning, Activities, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
When it comes to education and business, we often think of them as two separate entities. While education, especially higher education, presumably leads to a career, there isn’t always a clear connection between what we learn in school and the skills we end up using on the job.
Topics: Workforce Development, Hands-on Learning, 21st Century Skills, Career Expeditions, Careers, Trends, STEM, Culture, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, FUNDING, IN THE CLASSROOM
If you read Anna Gudde’s recent blog post, “Cover to cover STEM!,” you know that our 2018-19 Elementary STEM catalog came out recently. And if you’ve browsed the pages of the catalog, you might’ve noticed an exciting change to one of our most popular products – the Straw Rocket Launcher.
Topics: Physics, Hands-on Learning, Activities, Engineering, STEM, Collaborations, IN THE CLASSROOM
Administrators and teachers in the Yakima (WA) School District are determined to give their students every opportunity to succeed – in school and in life.
Already home to an extensive CTE program, the district has decided to give students even more opportunities by expanding their robotics programs. To that end, they’ve added nine TETRIX® MAX R/C Getting Started Packages, two Robotics: Urban Search & Rescue Challenge Sets, and 20 TETRIX MAX Dual-Control Robotics Sets to their program.
We had the chance to speak with CTE Technical Support Specialist Eric Franz about the district’s intentional efforts to grow robotics opportunities for students.
Topics: Hands-on Learning, TETRIX Robotics, 21st Century Skills, USAR, STEM, Technology, ROBOTICS, Competitions
