Monthly Newsletter - September 2021

We might be at the end of September, but we are right in the middle of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Every year from September 15th to October 15th, Americans celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors come from Hispanic descent. So this month we celebrate those from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America in STEM with activities, books, and ways to learn more!

Our Latest Blog Posts

Free Hispanic Heritage Activities You’ll Love

HispanicHeritageMonth.gov has a fantastic collection of resources for teachers. Here are a few of our favorites:

Visit SACNAS – Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science to get students interested in becoming Hispanic leaders in STEM!

The National Parks Service is also celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing stories and hosting the Power of Parks for Health Roundtable on October 7th.

Also check out NASA’s resources during Hispanic Heritage Month and The Astronomy of Many Cultures: A Resource Guide compiled by Andrew Fraknoi.

Image Credit: Detail of “Carnaval, San Francisco, California”. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2012 (Library of Congress) https://www.loc.gov/item/2013630039

Hispanic Heritage Books

Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise (Author), Paola Escobar (Illustrator)

- BONUS: Discussion Guide
Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx / La juez que crecio en el Bronx by Jonah Winter (Author), Edel Rodriguez (Illustrator)
- BONUS: Discussion Guide

Building the EV Micro-Kart

One of our newest products is the Build Smart EV Micro-Kart. The EV Micro-Kart Short Course is available now, with the full course being available in October. These kits are a perfect introduction to coding, circuits, and mechanical engineering for middle and high school students. Using these kits, students build micro-karts from scratch, then outfit them with micro:bits to bring them to life through code!

Our kits provide:

All required building materials and tools
Step-by-step standards-aligned curriculum
micro:bit v2
micro:bit kit with necessary sensors and electronic components

You can adjust the curriculum to fit your program, so whether you have a group of students for a week or are implementing it into your semester-long class, Build Smart will fit right in.

Upcoming Events

We are back on the road again! We are so ready to meet STEM educators all over the country as we travel to STEM tradeshows. This month we will be at the MTEEA, SC EdTech, and AASL conferences. Read below to find out more on each one!

The Minnesota Technology and Engineering Educators Association is hosting their 43rd technology education conference in Waite Park, MN. If you’re in town on October 1st, come talk to Brad about how we can help you!

From October 20th – 21st we will be in Myrtle Beach, SC for the South Carolina EdTech conference. The conference offers content and activities that span all areas of educational technology with diverse workshops, presentations, speakers, exhibitors, and recognition events. If you missed Brad at MTEEA he will be at this one too, so come see him at booth #416! Register here.

We won’t make Brad be two places at once, so you can meet Christine and Corey at the American Association of School Librarians conference in Salt Lake City from October 21st – October 23rd. They’ll be in booth #714. If you’re a librarian, you’ll want to be there! Register here.

Hispanic STEM Champions to Follow

Twitter: SACNAS – Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science for 48 years. Creating #truediversity in STEM.
Twitter: Jose Hernandez – Hernandez is the son of migrant farmworkers, an astronaut and author who now spends time visiting schools and being a motivational speaker.
Instagram: Hispanic Heritage Foundation – Founded by The White House: they Identify, Inspire, Prepare & Promote Latino Leadership