2021 Alamo STEM Ecosystem Virtual Conference

Participants will discuss the ROADS on Asteroids student challenge that gives teams of students in grades 3–12 a chance to tackle a mission to the Vesta asteroid, following in the path of the next discovery. Teams will face challenges including engineering and programming, analysis of biological signatures and geologic features, not to mention flying to collect samples and successfully landing. Participants will gain a better understanding of drones, EV3, Lego Programming Software, and the student challenge activities. Participants will go through the different student activities which will include crater formation, search for life (methane detector), digital microscopes, mission patch design, and robotic exploration.
Physics, Astronomy, Earth Science, Technology, Careers, GT, 3-12

The Clean Air for Kids! Program helps kids and parents understand how to prevent air pollution caused by the idling of cars, trucks and buses, especially around schools.

Excessive and unnecessary vehicle idling is a serious, avoidable contributor to environmental pollution and poor human health. This behavior occurs throughout virtually all transportation activities, including parents picking up children after school, customers waiting in line at a drive-through ATM or restaurant, trucks delivering goods, and buses waiting to pick up passengers.

Unnecessary idling significantly contributes to air pollution, which in turn worsens environmental and health problems, including contributing to the dramatic rise of childhood asthma.

You can make a big difference with little changes to your lifestyle!
Earth and Environmental, Pedagogy, PK-8

An informal educator’s guide for exploring 7 strategies to transform your classroom that you can put to use on Monday! Investigate how to create STEM career conversations and uplift equity in your classroom, engage with tech tools to enhance blended learning, pick up techniques on guiding inquiry-driven content, peer into the brain through examining brain-based learning, and make your learning last through innovative resilience and reflection activities. Explore all of this and more through the lens of a STEM museum, specializing in making STEM approachable, exciting, and inspiring. Teachers will receive a PDF lesson plan steeped in best practices for inquiry and blended learning, threaded with career connections in the content area of force and motion at the completion of the workshop.
Careers, Informal Science, PK-8