Activities

Looking for a sequence of activities you can implement in your afterschool program today? Say goodbye to googling or searching on Pinterest. Use the following activities in sequence to support youth in building an engineering mindset. Note: The following two sets of activities last 5-8 sessions. The first requires hardware and the second does not in case your program does not have access.

1. Lesson 1-3: Educator Guide: Explore Mars With Scratch | NASA/JPL Edu Grades 3-8, requires hardware, multiple sessions – This activity is divided into multiple sections. The first section is an introduction to setting up a Mars rover game using the Scratch programming language. It can be completed as a stand-alone lesson, or in conjunction with several other sections, depending on student and teacher familiarity with Scratch and block-based programming languages. 
2. Lesson 4-6: Educator Guide: Mars Rover Driver Board Game | NASA/JPL Edu  Grades 3-8 No hardware required, multiple sessions. In this board-game lesson, students play the roles of a Mars rover, scientist, and engineer to make exploration decisions and accomplish science goals. Students learn to write basic command sequences, which lay the groundwork for developing computer programming skills.  Includes a variety of videos and other resources to learn about computing and Mars. 

Looking for EVEN More Activities at NASA?! Activity Toolkit: Engineering is Elementary’s NASA Partnership free units – A suite of free NASA-funded STEM resources for students in grades 3-8. All resources are research-based and classroom-tested. They are designed to support students’ understanding of space, while helping them see themselves as capable problem solvers.

Click on the links below to access curated mini units of STEM-based curriculum from SDAN.

• Activity Guide: Getting Electric
• Activity Guide: Inside My Body
• Activity Guide: Building Great Structures
• Activity Guide: Harnessing Air 

Resources

Engineering Week 2/19 – 2/25

• Discover Engineering Downloadable Resources – A Collection of resources for your Engineers Week and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day events and activities! Download logos, ads, graphics, certificates, bookmarks, and customizable language you can share.
• NGCP “10 Ways to Support Girls in STEM in 2023” – A list of 10 simple ways you can support girls in STEM in 2023, along with the necessary resources to help you. Information for addressing stereotypes, introducing role models, exploring coding, and more are included in this helpful NGCP resource that can be used to kickstart your Engineering Week and beyond. 
• National Science Foundation’s  Engineering Classroom Resources – This collection of lessons and web resources curated by the NSF is aimed at classroom teachers, their students, and student’s families.
• The STEAM Playbook – NGCP partnered with The Genius of Play to bring this collection of play ideas and ready-to-use activities to help spark a child’s interest in these critical subjects. Check out the activities specific to Engineering to help plan your Engineering Week
• PBS Kids Engineering Games – Collection of free engineering-focused games from PBS Kids

Transformative Practices

• Professional Development Guide For Staff: The National Center for Quality Afterschool Math in Afterschool – The National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning developed professional development guides for four content areas of the toolkit: literacy, math, technology, and the arts. 
• Activity Toolkit: Growing Math – Provides ready-to-roll-out lessons and games combining math, agricultural science and Indigenous history and culture that can be easily used in classrooms, via hybrid models or through distance learning. The project will provide resources, curriculum, training and tech support to teachers and students in Grades 3-8 at schools in six states: Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon and South Dakota. For schools in the region, all participation and resources are supported through USDA funds. 

• Toolkit: Engaging Families in Mathematics Education – Families are a child’s first educator and this role does not halt on day one of school. Families lay the foundation for future educational success. Researchers have identified four best practices for engaging families effectively in mathematics education.
• Educator Guide: STEM Activities for Families – Easy to implement engaging activities for families (as a follow up to after school activities.)
• Toolkit: Brokering Youth Pathways: A Toolkit for Connecting Youth to Future Opportunity from the Hive Research Network – This toolkit shares ways in which various out-of-school educators and professionals have approached the challenge of brokering. We provide a framework, practice briefs and reports that focus on a particular issue or challenge and provide concrete examples, as well as illustrate how our partners worked through designing new brokering routines in partnership with our research team.
• Resource Guide for Black and African American Students in STEM

Special Opportunities

NASA Inspires Futures for Tomorrow’s Youth (NIFTY) Applications due February 18, 2023

Looking to leverage your STEM programs for youth (ages 9-14) by connecting with NASA STEM Role Models?The NIFTY project is seeking 20 partners to provide NASA-themed STEM programs for underrepresented youth ages 9-14 (with a focus on girls and youth of color). Selected partners will receive $5,000, professional development for two staff, space science STEM activities and materials to support running two programs, one July-December 2023 and the other January-June 2025. The NIFTY project is funded by NASA.