Vermont Afterschool is proud to be part of the Million Girls Moonshot initiative, working to inspire and prepare the next generation of innovators by engaging one million more girls in STEM learning opportunities through OST programs over the next five years. The Million Girls Moonshot is an initiative of the STEM Next Opportunity Fund. The Million Girls Moonshot seeks to re-imagine who can engineer, who can build, who can make. See below for some information and resources that can help advance this goal!
If you are using these resources please fill out this quick survey so Vermont Afterschool can see how these resources are being distributed. Thank you!
Engineering Mindset Activities
- NASA’s Favorite House Plants for Space Stations and You – The Grow Network : The Grow Network – Design a flowerpot for space—what shape works best? How deep does it need to be? What do scientists need to consider to grow plants in space?
- Design A Crew Module – Use materials that are easy to find at home to build a crew capsule for spaceflight. Grades 4-8.
- Team Building for STEM Challenges — In this team building activity, youth work together to lift an object by using a set of strings attached to a center ring.
Activity Toolkits for Educators
- STEM Educators Academy Activity Toolkit from ExpandED Schools — This Activity Toolkit offers hybrid learning engineering design challenges, STEM facilitation skill builder videos, and engineering design activities categorized by content areas.
- Hear Here: A ‘Pi in the Sky’ Math Challenge | NASA/JPL Edu — The “Pi in the Sky” math challenge gives students in grades 10-12 a chance to find solutions to real-world problems all while using math and pi just like NASA scientists and engineers.
Printable Posters for Educators
Free Printable Summer Math Games (123homeschool4me.com) — Get a free month of activities, videos, and fun experiences. Appropriate for grades 1-8. Kids “build” a Math Monster who leads them through the activities. The website adapts to the child’s capacity—gently, but constantly increasing the difficulty of the activities.
