Planning a STEM or STEAM Family Night? Read on for 10 amazing activities that will engage the whole family! From painting with robots to creating a paper circuit, these activities will take your STEM Family Night to the next level!

How can you make your STEM dreams a reality? What are the best STEM grants? Read on for resources, grant writing tips, and funding opportunities to get your hands on money for your classroom or program!

This week is Engineers Week! It is a time to connect kids to real-world engineering problems and expose them to what engineers really do. Read on to learn more about the engineering design process and how to use it in education, as well as how to make an engineering kit for your budding engineers. Oh, and there is a freebie too!

Exploring a science museum, attending a planetarium show, or touring a local research lab, STEM field trips are the ultimate way to excite students and connect classroom topics to the real world of STEM! Read on for our guide to planning a fun and educational trip based on our adventures in Space Club. 

STEM education is sweeping the nation. From robotics competitions to coding games, school districts are scrambling to provide STEM programs while teachers sift through thousands of Pinterest pins in search of quality activities. We need further clarification to distinguish these levels in STEM education. To help guide educators and administrators, we propose the following 3 stages of STEM Education. 

When you hear the word “FAILURE”, what comes to mind? What feelings surface? Failure is something adults face often; for example, in our jobs when we fail to meet a deadline, in our relationships when we fail to act appropriately to situations, and in our homes when we fail to get chores accomplished or items fixed, to name a few. How a person responds to failure, and more importantly, how one goes on to succeed may be based on how he or she is conditioned at a young age.

Every child has looked up at the twinkling stars on a clear night and wondered about the vastness above. The night sky captures a child's imagination and leads to profound thoughts and questions about our place in the world. The need to explore and discover is a common thread among humans, and the greatest unknowns lay in the night sky above us. Giving students a window into the beauty of space and teaching the journey of humankind's exploration of other worlds is a powerful tool to inspire and engage an interest in science and engineering. 

Are you looking for professional development opportunities specific to STEM education? Below is a list of conferences I have attended plus ones that come recommended from colleagues. This list includes both national conferences that change location each year and ones specific to the Texas area. 

Last year, I helped organize four middle school Robotics Clubs that participated in GEAR and First Lego League competitions. While I believe robotics is an amazing component of STEM education, I wanted to highlight some of the challenges we faced in creating a quality after school program. I also outlined some possible solutions to help overcome these challenges, which I am implementing this year.  

After moving from engineering to education, I had a lot to learn about teaching! I was used to speaking to a group of middle-aged male engineers, and now I had a classroom full of sixth graders arguing over a bag of Takis (popular San Antonio snacks). I had decided to start an after school Space Club, and to my surprise, I had over fifty students crammed into the classroom on day one. Now what?!