Texas EcosySTEM Newsletter
Education Service Center Region 11 - January 2021
What is STEM?
STEM is not a commodity to be bought, sold, earned, or awarded. It is an awareness, recognition, and acceptance of reality. A symbol of a way forward with confidence and hope!
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TAME Club Registration (Title 1 Schools Qualify for FREE STEM Toolkits)
Typically, educators register TAME Clubs in the fall to access curricula, content ideas and qualify for the spring TAME STEM Competitions. While the deadline to register Clubs for the 2021 Competition Seasons has passed, we are still encouraging TAME Club registration through the spring. This is a great way to join the TAME family during this unique year. Clubs that serve Title 1 School-attending students will be qualified to receive a free STEM toolkit while supplies last. These toolkits include PPE, curricula, and funding for program materials! Read more about the Toolkit Initiative and how to register a club here.
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EngineerGirl Ambassadors: Empowering High-Schoolers and Inspiring Young Girls
NGCP National Webinar
EngineerGirl Ambassadors: Empowering High-Schoolers and Inspiring Young Girls
January 12, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. Pacific / 6:00 p.m. Eastern
Participants will learn about the EngineerGirl Ambassadors program and hear from Ambassador Faye Liu and her sponsor, Crista Riccio, as they share their experiences.
An EngineerGirl Ambassador is a female U.S. high school student who designs, develops, and implements a project in her local community to encourage younger girls to think about engineering and engineering careers. Ambassadors receive training and support from the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) through the EngineerGirl program, and they become part of a community of like-minded young women who support each other while making a positive change in their communities.
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Reach Across the Stars: Meet Your Female Space and Science Heroes (virtually!)
NGCP National Webinar
Reach Across the Stars: Meet Your Female Space and Science Heroes (virtually!)
January 27, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. Pacific / 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Virtually "meet" women who have blazed trails in space and related science fields in this webinar celebrating National Mentoring Month. Participants will hear from a panel of STEM professionals and scientists who are featured in a free augmented reality (AR) app designed to allow users to explore the universe and unlock the often-overlooked stories of women and their contributions to space exploration and science.
The project, "Reach Across the Stars: A Universe of Explorers," was created through a collaboration between the Smithsonian’s Because of Her Story Initiative and NASA. During the webinar and in further exploration in the app, participants will hear about the challenges, motivations, and hobbies of these scientists and STEM professionals while getting a behind the scenes glimpse at their work.
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STEAM CARNIVAL - MARCH 1-2, 2021 (Virtual)
What to Expect in Our Virtual Big Top
The STEAM Carnival is a rush of learning and fun, all packed into a 3-hour field trip that will leave your students wanting more. Most years, they are met with an animatronic T-Rex staring them down as they enter the doors, hands-on experiences throughout the center, rockets flying, drones, flight simulators, and more. For the safety of our guests, this year, we are going to be hosting our STEAM Carnival virtually! So...what does that mean for your students?
Gameshows, Virtual Escape Challenges, Student Showcases, and more!
We are currently working with several of our partners from our previous events, along with even more guests from all over the world...and maybe even out of this world!
Students will have:
- Individual challenges/competitions against other students from across the state
- Team challenges designed to help your class get out of the escape room
- Classroom showcase projects
- Famous guests, celebrities, and talents
- Opportunities to win tickets to the 2022 STEAM Carnival
- A chance to be part of the intro video with your classmates!
The event will consist of a 2 1/2 hour interactive event with an optional team challenge to do in your classroom to complete your day.
Virtual Student Showcase
The STEAM Carnival began in 2016 and is growing each year with new and exciting activities for the participants. One of our biggest attractions is our Student Showcase zone. Region 11 schools nominate their projects and programs for the chance to be chosen to showcase their ideas and creations to 1,200+ students during each of the carnival days. As the first zone for our attendees, the Student Showcase helps set the tone for their entire experience!
This year, we are doing something a little different. With the pandemic keeping students from attending in person, we are hosting our event as an immersive virtual event. The Student Showcase will still give students a chance to showcase their project and work to a live audience via video conference, which will be recorded and shared in our digital Student Showcase Zone for attendees to browse and view.
For more information and to register: STEAM CARNIVAL 2021
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2021 NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth and Space Science Internship
Audience: Current High School Sophomores and Juniors
Application Deadline: February 22, 2021
Contact: baguio@csr.utexas.edu or cmiller@csr.utexas.edu
For more information: http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/sees-internship/
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 22, 2021
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Beginner's Code Guide from AT&T
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Hello World
Hello World is a CTE-aligned K-12 computer science program that has been in development for over five years. We’re eager to grow our partnerships with schools that support grades 3-12. Hello World is turnkey for teachers, integrates multidisciplinary learning designed to support TEKS mastery, and results in college-level student projects families can be proud of. Anah Wiersema, Academic Director at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, said this about our program: “Hello World has been a game-changer for our school. Students are doing some of the most impressive, life-changing work we’ve seen, and our teachers continually share how easy it is to implement this program.”
Here are some quick links to give you a sense of Hello World at work:
· Digital flyer outlining our program (includes elementary school courses)
· Student platform demo video (3 mins)
· Curriculum overview with student work examples
For more information, please contact Sabina Bharwani at sabina@helloworldstudio.org
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Texas EcosySTEM - Region 11
Newsletter Signup: From the dropdown, select TEXAS ECOSYSTEM!
Visit our Site: https://www.esc11.net/STEM
Vision: To provide quality solutions that build the capacity in STEM learning opportunities.
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Showcase Your Campus/District STEM
If you have a STEM event or program that you would like to feature in a Texas EcosySTEM newsletter, please send your information and a picture to Cheryl Bowden. We would love to help you show off the great things happening in your school!
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Texas EcosySTEM Resources
The Texas Education Agency has developed tools to help districts engage with families through STEM Education programming and build awareness throughout the community by expanding learning beyond the classroom.
TEA STEM Toolkit
Planning Tools:
- STEM Model Identification Guide
- STEM Education Program Planning Guide
- STEM Leadership Roles and Responsibilities
- STEM Sustainability Tool
Implementation Tools:
U.S. Department of Education STEM & Computer Science
You can subscribe to the topics that most interest you. We encourage you to invite your colleagues and friends to sign up as well!
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Contact Us! Region 11 STEM Lead - Cheryl Bowden
Each Education Service Center will provide free membership for districts to join the local STEM EcosySTEM.
EcosySTEM membership includes:
- Monthly STEM communication including information from the state and federal level
- Regional STEM goals developed by a local STEM Design Team and aligned to the local STEM labor market data
- Regular STEM ecosySTEM meetings to share local STEM opportunities and address local concerns
- All districts will have access to the free TEA STEM planning and implementation tools as well as family engagement tools
Email: cbowden@esc11.net
Website: https://www.esc11.net/Domain/1338
Location: 1451 South Cherry Lane, White Settlement, TX, USA
Phone: 817-740-7755
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esc11science/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @ESC11Science