During a recent visit to a school in McQueeny, Texas, I noticed bird feeders in the courtyard and attached to classroom windows. This prompted me to reflect back to childhood, on the time I spent watching birds from my parents’ deck and my grandparents’ backyard. I could spend hours watching the birds flitting and fleeting between the feeders and their perches in the trees; watching them brought me such joy.
Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, STEM, Careers, Authentic Learning, Social and emotional learning, Activities, Hands-on Learning, STEAM
Festive. A spectacle. A procession of fun. One of the most exciting and most popular aspects of local and school homecoming and holidays is often the parade. The community gathers to see the marching bands, athletic teams, fire trucks and police cars, horses, and likely all different kinds of floats.
When you start looking beyond the local scene and to some of the most well-known parades, such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Rose Parade in Pasedena, or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, the floats become massive pieces of incredible showmanship. In some cases, engineers start working on float designs more than a year in advance to prepare for parades!
Topics: BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Culture, Engineering, Careers, Activities
“Technology makes the world a new place.”
– Shoshana Zuboff
Yes . . . we’re celebrating another holiday. This one might be a little obscure, but it’s worth recognizing. October 3 is National Techies Day. Per Merriam-Webster, a “techie is a person who is very knowledgeable or enthusiastic about technology and especially high technology.” One would naturally assume that National Techies Day is all about those who love smartphones, smart watches, smart homes, and anything else deemed smart. And that’s true to some degree, but there’s also another aspect of it that is even cooler than the latest tech – promoting technology-based careers to today’s learners and future workforce.
Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, ROBOTICS, Teacher Resources, Collaborations, Technology, Careers, Coding, Professional Development, Future Ready, TETRIX Robotics, 21st Century Skills
Flavio Tello graduated from Texas State Technical College in Harlingen last spring where he studied Mechatronics, which includes electrical and mechanical engineering as well as programming. He now works for Koenig & Bauer and will soon be visiting their home base in Germany to learn how to troubleshoot and repair printing presses located across the United States.
Topics: Middle School, High School, ROBOTICS, Technology, Careers, Coding, USAR, Future Ready, TETRIX Robotics, 21st Century Skills, Hands-on Learning, innovate, Workforce Development
Editors Note: This blog was written by Pitsco TAG Teacher and NASA Space Ambassador David Lockett. He shares an inside look at the what and why of this unique and important event.
Tomorrow’s jobs are in space! But future ready begins now! In mid-March, as part of the Atlanta Science Festival, the Fernbank Science Center opened its doors to the community for the Astronaut Job Fair (AJF) as means to promote the importance of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). The daylong event was designed like a real professional job fair and career day. A diverse group of Atlanta’s students were directed through training to foster career-building skills while engaging with a staff of top space industry professionals.
Topics: IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Science, Technology, STEM, Careers, 21st Century Skills, STEAM, Workforce Development
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