Discovery Education offers free STEM camp

In an effort to bridge the equality gap, as well as give kids and teachers an opportunity for some summer excitement, Discovery Education recently announced that the company is offering its science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) summer camp resources for free.

“We know that too often, unequal access to summer and after-school learning opportunities contribute to disparities in student achievement,” said Cindy Moss, director of global STEM initiatives for Discovery Education. “After-school hours and summer months provide rich opportunities to broaden all students’ exposure to the STEM concepts we know are critical for their success in the classroom today and that are vital to prepare them to compete for the jobs of tomorrow.”

According to Discovery’s website, the STEM Camp is a “dynamic series of standards-aligned curricula available at no cost to schools, districts, non-profit organizations, and parents for use as part of summer camps, after-school STEM programs or wherever support is needed.”

(Next page: VIDEO and what’s included in the Camp)

Created in collaboration with leading educators and launched in partnership with the Afterschool Alliance and STEMconnector, STEM Camp includes hands-on labs, engineering challenges, digital investigations, and more, “all designed to immerse kids in the grand challenges of science set forth by the National Academy of Engineering.”

Currently, the STEM camp features a unit on Water– its properties and everyone’s role in conserving this resource. Future units will include Urban Infrastructure (engineering principles and design challenges), and Energy (how energy works and creativity’s role in unlocking future energy potentials).

“The camp content has a well-planned week of hands-on and technology-based learning activities that challenge as well as engage students… The camp’s curriculum has many wonderful resources from Discovery Education and outside of Discovery Education. It gives everything to instructors to make the camp easy to implement and fun for students,” said David C. Taylor, a middle school robotics and STEM teacher at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, N.C.

The STEM Camp was also designed to help support President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign to encourage more students to pursue careers in STEM fields and is designed to keep students inspired and engaged in learning during the summer months and after school.

Launching this summer, the STEM Camp will be deployed in conjunction with key partners, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago Summer of Learning program and the Chicago Public Schools. STEM Camp is designed to support the grand challenges of science issued by the National Academy of Engineers with curricula built around STEM-related topics of water, urban infrastructure, and energy.

Chicago’s Summer of Learning program

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“Every summer, the city is a classroom for our children. Through our Chicago Summer of Learning initiative, we are encouraging all of our Chicago youth to participate in hands-on learning outside of the classroom, and I am proud that Discovery Education has partnered with this initiative to offer engaging learning opportunities that connect STEM education to real-world experiences and challenges,” said Emanuel.

(Next page: STEM camp website and more STEM opportunities)

Discovery Education STEM Camp is part of Discovery Communications’ “Connect the Dots” campaign, which is designed to help students connect the dots between learning and life.

Other initiatives that are part of the campaign include the new science-focused series THE BIG BRAIN THEORY: PURE GENIUS on Discovery Channel, and a partnership between Science Channel and America’s manufacturers in support of Discovery’s ‘Discover Your Skills’ initiative to inspire STEM learning and careers in the skilled trades, among other programs.

For more information about Discovery’s “Connect the Dots” campaign and to access the Discovery Education STEM Camp curricula, visit www.discoveryeducation.com/STEM.