Monthly Newsletter – May 2022
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, celebrating the amazing achievements and contributions of AAPIs in the United States. Asian American and Pacific Islanders are a huge part of STEM in the U.S., with more than 18% of all AAPI workers being in STEM, compared to only 7% of total U.S. workers being in STEM jobs. See how you can learn more about AAPI heritage by reading more!
Our Latest Blog Posts
Free AAPI Heritage Resources You’ll Love
Inside and out of the classroom, this month we are sharing plenty of free resources you’ll love:
- AsianPacificHeritage.gov has teachers’ guides, iBooks, lessons, and studies found through the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, The Library of Congress, National Archives, and National Endowment for the Humanities.
- Ted Talks are great to insert into any lesson, and plenty of Ted Talks feature a variety of Asian Americans, such as Canwen Xu, who started an all-girls computer science workshop called Code For Fun!
- PBS series, 31 Stories for 31 Days of AAPI Heritage Month, celebrates by sharing stories that explore aspects of our shared American history.
- Share My Lesson has activities and lesson plans in their collection of AAPI Heritage Month resources, such as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Fun Facts.
It’s also important to know once entering the workforce, that AAPI STEM professionals have the resources they need. Columbia Engineering has put together 50 free resources for PD, mental health, and more.
Best AAPI Books
- The Ocean in the School: Pacific Islander Students Transforming Their University by Rick Bonus
- Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom by Teresa Robeson (Author) & Rebecca Huang (Illustrator)
- Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
- Eyes That Kiss In The Corners by Joanna Ho (Author) & Dung Ho (Illustrator)
- We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story By Simu Liu
New STEM and Art Kits!
If you missed our announcement earlier this week, we are now proud partners with Brown Dog Gadgets! These hands-on projects combine art and STEM, are budget-friendly, and are ready to use right out of the box. Students get creative while having fun learning about circuitry and alternative power.
Bristlebots, Paper Circuits (top right) Sewing Circuits (bottom left), Solar Bug
Brown Dog Gadgets products are popular in summer camps, after school programs, and STEM and art classes.
STEM Champions to Follow
- Twitter: RUN AAPI – RUN AAPI is a cultural hub: full of creatives, changemakers, advocates – just like our community. Here to uplift, here to create, here to mobilize.
- Twitter: Songju Daemicke: Tu Youyou’s Discovery – Award-winning author, software engineer.
- Instagram: aapiofficial – AAPI UNITED is a non-profit private foundation that provides mentorship, support, and funding via grants and endowments to organizations and activists in the Asian American Community.
