National Egg Day

Ingenuity is testing powered flight on another world for the very first time. It hitched a ride to Mars on the Perseverance rover back in February. Now it is time for Ingenuity to fly on its own, and a great time to incorporate STEM and lessons on Grit.

Citizen Science Month

In March, we are celebrating Math! This is because my favorite math holiday of all time is on 3/14/21. Have you celebrated Pi day? This year, consider celebrating with NASA or the Exploratorium – both are famous for their Pi day celebrations.

I loved reading Dr. Suess's books as a child because the language was simple and it was fun. It made me laugh. His books were the first poetry I read. I loved reading them to my child as a parent because I could make silly voices and we could read and laugh together. March 2 is Dr. Suess's birthday! To celebrate, I want to share some fun ways to connect his books to science and math.

March 2 is Read Across America Day! Here are four creative ways to celebrate in your afterschool program:

Making, tinkering, and engineering activities are all excellent ways to engage children and youth in afterschool and summer programs. A search of all three terms provides a myriad of activities that range from simple to complex, and that use materials from the standard kitchen or desktop items to computers and 3D printers. The kind of activities you choose will depend on your goals.

Scientists are often just people who are curious and creative. Alessandro Volta was this sort of person. He believed that he could use chemistry to create electricity. At first, no one believed him, but after many experiments, mistakes, and ideas that didn’t work, he used a pile of metallic disks separated by salty cloth to generate electricity!

Black History Month

February

Celebrate Black History Month by checking out these resources that will help you honor the achievements and scientific work of African Americans.