Afterschool programs play a major role in providing meaningful science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning experiences to diverse groups of youth.
These subjects help students succeed in school and prepare them for careers that are driving global economic growth.
Nationwide, states and schools are engaging diverse partners like afterschool programs, libraries, museums, universities, and businesses to ensure that students have access to high-quality STEM education. By fully utilizing the hours outside of school, and taking an all hands on deck approach to maximize collective impact, we can ensure that our students are prepared for the future. Afterschool and summer programs spark learning and ignite interest by letting youth experiment with STEM ideas in real-world situations.
KYOSA is proud to be part of the Million Girls Moonshot. The Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation have joined STEM Next Opportunity Fund and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to launch the Million Girls Moonshot. The effort is designed to engage 1 million school-age girls in the United States in STEM learning opportunities over the next five years. The organizations will provide grant funding and in-kind resources to Mott-funded afterschool networks in all 50 states to increase access to hands-on, immersive STEM learning experiences.
Explore our resources for all things STEM and Afterschool!
June Resources – Summer of STEM
- World Oceans Day (June 8, 2021)
- Curiosity Camp: How Can Coding Save Orca Whales?
- Curiosity Camp Activity Sheet: Whale Tail Bookmark
- Meet Gracie Ermi, a Research Software Engineer
- Mission Unstoppable: This Scientist Trains Sharks
- Mission Unstoppable: Saving Coral Reefs
- Meet Shark Researcher, Vicky Vasquez
- Free This is what a scientist looks like poster of IF/THEN Ambassador and software engineer fighting to save Orcas, Gracie Ermi. This poster can be used in your physical paces to highlight an inspiring role model in engineering and the fight against climate change.
- International Women in Engineering Day (June 23, 2021)
- #SheCanSTEM 1: Ritu Raman
- Free This is What a Scientist Looks Like poster of IF/THEN Ambassador and engineer Erika Anderson. This poster can be used in your physical paces to highlight an inspiring role model in engineering.
- Teacher Reference Guide and Activity Sheet featuring IF/THEN Ambassador and mechanical engineer.
April Resources – Mentors in Action
- Incorporating the Stories of Women, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ Scientists Into the Physics Classroom – Short article from the National Science Teaching Association about the contributions of women, people of color, and other diverse scientists to the field of Physics. Includes a link to lesson plans that could be adapted for K-12.
- STEM is for Everyone! – Profiles of scientists with disabilities.
- National Environmental Education Week (April 19-23) and Earth Day (April 22)
- #SheCanSTEM video featuring IF/THEN Ambassador and climate scientist, Dr. Victoria Herrmann
- Mission Unstoppable: Tracking Bears with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
- Poster: This Is What a Scientist Looks Like – featuring IF/THEN Ambassador Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. This poster can be used in your physical paces to highlight an inspiring role model.
March Resources – More Role Models
- The IF/THEN® Collection is the largest free resource of its kind dedicated to increasing access to authentic and relatable images of real women in STEM.
February Resources – Role Models
- Webpage: Role Models Matter and Mentoring Works! – The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity believes that one of the most effective ways to encourage students to consider nontraditional careers is to introduce them to diverse role models, particularly role models. This webpage serves as a resource for educators seeking STEM role models and mentors for their students.
- Videos: Role Model Profiles Video Archives SciGirls CONNECTSciGirls CONNECT – Incorporating videos from diverse STEM role models into your afterschool program is a quick way to expose students to role models. Pair your engineering activity with a video from Rachel Gitajn, a bicycle engineer, or Tejal Desai, a biomedical engineer, so students can begin making connections between afterschool, the real-world, and career.
- Posters: STEM Role Models Posters – Download inspirational, diverse STEM Role Models posters for your school or afterschool program — now in 8 additional languages including Chinese, Spanish, and French.
- Stories: Stories | She Can STEM. So Can You – Meet the women and girls of STEM. They build robots, find new sources of energy, study animals, play with slime, and invent apps. They help make the world a better (and cooler) place to be. Each story will give
Afterschool STEM Tool Kit is a starting place for networks, intermediaries and afterschool site-based staff to help answer common questions about providing high quality, informal STEM experiences for youth.
COSI Connects launches audiences of all ages into a universe of science through online videos, activities, plus a free mobile app that enables science exploration even when offline. COSI Connects is helping to bridge the digital divide, promote digital literacy, and address critical science education needs simultaneously.
Girls Who Code is a national non-profit working to close the gender gap in technology. Clubs are free after-school programs for 6th-12th grade girls to use computer science to impact their community and join a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models.
STEM Ready America is a compendium from 40 authors presenting persuasive evidence—as well as real-world examples of effective practices, programs, and partnerships—on how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) knowledge and skills are preparing young people for success in school today and the workforce tomorrow.
Click2Science is a resource for out-of-school time professionals. It is designed to help providers build high-quality STEM programs by giving them the skills they need to create positive STEM learning experiences outside the school day.
Common Instrument: A PEAR tool used to assess interest and engagement in science.
Dimensions of Success (DoS) A PEAR observation tool that defines 12 indicators of STEM program quality in OST settings.
MakerMinded is a free program designed to encourage middle and high school students to participate in local STEM activities, particularly related to advanced manufacturing.
InformalScience.org is a collection of project, research, and evaluation resources designed to support informal STEM education in a variety of learning environments.
Pairweb.org provides a searchable database of assessment tools for informal science learning.
PBS LearningMedia is a great destination for educators to access high-quality, trusted digital content that inspires youth and transforms learning.
Afterschool STEM Hub will help providers, parents, and afterschool advocates make the case for expanding and supporting afterschool STEM program
STEM Learning In Kentucky
With demand for well-trained STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workers expected to skyrocket, and women and people of color grossly underrepresented in STEM professions, afterschool programs in Kentucky and across the country can play a critical role in preparing the workforce of the future.
Key takeaways from the recently released STEM Learning in Afterschool on the Rise, But Barriers and Inequities Exist report include:
- Parents strongly support STEM learning in afterschool
- STEM learning opportunities are widely available in afterschool and summer learning programs
- Afterschool programs provide STEM learning opportunities to populations underrepresented in STEM fields
- Opportunities are not the same for all families
- There are gender disparities in the students afterschool and summer learning programs reach with STEM
STEM Learning in Kentucky Report
