Monthly Newsletter – February 2024

As Black History Month kicks off, we’re celebrating the remarkable achievements of Black individuals. We will be highlighting their accomplishments and inspiring contributions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Discover resources to deepen your appreciation for Black excellence in STEM, and don’t forget to check out last year’s newsletter for even more inspiration!

Our Latest Blog Posts

• STEM-Focused TED Talks for the New Year
• Superheroes & Sci-Fi: Why I Chose STEM
• Getting Ready for the 2024 Eclipse!

Our Favorite Free Black History Resources

This list has a great collection of free lessons, experiments, and exploration of Black history. See more for yourself:

• ScienceMakers DVD Toolkit – 34 ScienceMakers, separated by scientific field, each with a highlighted biography, discussion questions, experiment, and transcripts from the clips they’re featured in.
• Hidden Figures – A movie, based on a book (see our Best Books section), based on true events, features a curriculum guide with 8 cross-curricular lessons.
• Black Inventor Online Museum – Focuses on the ingenuity and accomplishments of the top Black inventors over the last 300 years.
• STEM Education Works 2022 & 2023 Black History Month newsletters – Don’t forget to check out our past newsletters, as they provide an expansive list of more free resources on Black History in STEM.

Best STEM Books on Black History

• Women Who Count: Honoring African American Women Mathematicians by Shelly M. Jones
• Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
• Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton (Author) & Don Tate (Illustrator)
• STEM Looks Like Me: Exploring the World of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math by Amber Booth McCoy (Author), Katina Booth White (Author), Cortney Booth Akers (Author), Iris M. Williams (Editor), & P. J. Valencia (Illustrator)
• Black Men in Science: A Black History Book for Kids by Bryan Patrick Avery

Brand New 3D Printing Curriculum!

Our latest curriculum, Discoveries in Design and Innovation – 3D Printing Edition, Book 1, is built for middle schools and includes 6 units with standard-aligned lessons centered around 3D printing.

Available digitally and in print, this curriculum can be used with any 3D printer and is anchored by the 5E learning model – Engage, Explore, Explain, Engineer, and Evaluate

Upcoming Events

We will be back at ITEEA in Memphis, from March 7-8. The conference focuses on the roadmap that Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy (STEL) provides for all educators. Find us at booth #20! Register here.

STEM News of the Month

• Advanced Science News – Nanomotors may help arthritis medications get to joints
• NASA – NASA’s New Experimental Antenna Tracks Deep Space Laser
• Live Science – Greenland is losing so much ice it’s getting taller