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.
- 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.Â
- 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.Â
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.
Supported by the Mott Foundation, Mizzen is available at no cost to afterschool professionals! Encourage partners to download the Mizzen By Mott app to access STEM activities at your finger-touch! You’ll find it in Mizzen here.Â
Featured Activities & Playlists
- Mizzen Activity: Beach Ball Math
- Mizzen Playlist: STEM Activities for 9-12th Grades – Students engage in science and engineering activities that contain accessible materials.
- Mizzen Playlist: STEM Activities for K-5th Grade in Small Groups – This playlist is a great mix of engineering and science activities that are easy and fun for small groups of kids K-5th.
TMC To Go
Click the pictures to download SDAN’s TMC To Go Mini Unit STEM Activity Guides.
RESOURCES
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- Educator Guide: Educator Guide: STEM Activities for Families | NASA/JPL Edu Easy to implement engaging activities for families (as a follow up to after school activities.)
- Resources for Mentoring Month
- Career Girls – A comprehensive video-based career exploration tool for girls featuring diverse women STEM role models. It’s free to use and contains 16,000 videos, as well as career quizzes and resources.
- FabFems – A collection of resources for role models, educators, and parents to inspire and educate girls about science, computer science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses and careers. The website includes Resources for Role Models and Resources for Girls.
- National Mentoring Resource Center – A collection of mentoring resources including handbooks, curricula, manuals, and other resources that practitioners can use to implement and further develop program practices.
- Techbridge Role Model Training and Resources – These resources are for adult or near-peer role models to develop skills for engaging girls and historically excluded youth in STEM through guides, videos, and questions.
