STEM Best Practices

In partnership with Vermont Energy Education Program, New Hampshire Energy Education Program, Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, NCSU Encore, and University of Vermont Extension 4H, Vermont Afterschool created this guide for STEM-based programs, which includes best practice examples (for Space, Connections, Content, Skills, and Pathways) appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school youth, as well as links to other important resources. Click here to download the guide.

Hack Club

Hack Club is the world’s largest peer-led network of teenage creatives who come together around the joy of code. Every day, thousands of Hack Clubbers gather online and in-person to make things with code. Whether you’re a beginner programmer or have years of experience, there’s a place for you at Hack Club. Join our Slack community of over 50,000 teens from 119 countries, browse free project resources to help you get started, or start your own Hack Club with a pizza grant! Click here for more info.

Destination Imagination

A project-based educational program that inspires interest in STEAM and equips students to become the next generation of innovators and leaders. Participants work together in teams and develop new friendships as they improve in creative thinking, critical thinking, and collaborative problem solving. Click here for free activities and click here for more info.

UME Academy

Tools and resources to teach core STEM curriculum through something kids love, Video Games.  You provide the computers and they provide everything else! Click here for more info.

Mizzen by Mott

Create a free account and gain access to thousands of lessons and activities from all different subject areas and for all ages. Click here for more info.

FIRST

A global robotics community preparing young people for the future with three different programs: First Lego League (pre-K-8), First Tech Challenge (grades 7-12), and First Robotics Competition (grades 9-12). Click here for more info.

Girls Who Code

Join or start a club through Girls Who Code, which is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. There are clubs for 3rd-5th graders and 6th-12th graders, as well as summer programs and college programs. Click here for more info.

National Girls Collaborative Project

The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) connects, creates, and collaborates with a network of advocates to promote equity and transform STEM for girls and all youth. NGCP shares research-based resources through our webinars, newsletter, and website to support programs and educators in making their programming more equitable and inclusive. Click here for more info.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  • National Weather Service – Meteorologists and scientists are available to meet with a classroom or a group, and can tailor presentations toward specific topics that engage your students through age-appropriate discussions, presentations, and question and answer sessions. Click here for more info.
  • NOAA Hands-on Science Activities – Fun, interactive activities and demonstrations for all ages. Some activities include a video tutorial. Click here for more info.
  • NOAA Sea to Sky Education Resource Database – Quickly search for lessons, activities, videos, and much more on the ocean, coast, Great Lakes, weather, atmosphere, and climate. Click here for more info.
  • NOAA Citizen Science Projects – Explore in-person and virtual opportunities to get involved in NOAA citizen science projects. Click here for more info.
  • NOAA Student Opportunities – A searchable database from K-12 to grad school. Click here for more info.
Technovation

Technovation is committed to empowering young women to become technology leaders, problem solvers & innovators. Through Technovation’s technology entrepreneurship program, girls design an app or AI solution to a real world problem. For community partners who implement this program, Technovation provides interactive curriculum, lesson plans, training, resources, and a virtual project-building platform. To learn more, check out this Program Overview or submit an interest form.

Venture Labs

See how Entrepreneurial thinking brings STEAM to life. Full access (Part I and Part II) to VentureLabs Topics in Entrepreneurship Grades 1-12 curriculum at no cost to any VT program that reaches out to VentureLabs. Click here for more info.

Vermont Energy Education

What happens when you turn on the lights? How does a solar panel work? What’s the best way to build a windmill? How do our choices about transportation or heating our homes impact the climate? VEEP provides hands-on equipment, lesson plans, workshops and coaching to help you and your students answer these questions and more. Free K-12 curricula for download, and scholarships available to offset fees for kit rentals and workshops.  Click here for more info.

Go2 Science

Beth (teacher) and Curtis (scientist) travel the world doing field research on highly engaging topics, and students have a virtual front-row seat on the action! Each research mission tells a story about the place, its wildlife, and culture, and helps solve real-world problems. Multi-age content includes field videos, hands-on lessons, livestream events, and much more. Join missions live or adventure at your own pace! Embedded professional development helps providers build their own skills while working directly with students. Click here for more info.

Rosie’s Girls

Rosie’s Girls is a STEM, trades, and career exploration program for girls and gender-expansive youth entering grades 6-8. Participants are introduced to a career field that is non-traditional for their gender through hands-on learning in a supportive and empowering environment. In addition to trades and technical learning, Rosie’s Girls includes a social and emotional curriculum known as “Power Skills.” Four different themes are offered: Build, Weld, Explore, and Invent. Partner with Vermont Works for Women to host Rosie’s Girls once a week at your local school or community center and help girls expand their sense of what’s possible. Click here for more info or contact Marla Goldstein (mgoldstein@vtworksforwomen.org | 802-655-8900 x115).