4 student opportunities to share right now

Virtual STEM College Fair // Sunday, March 7

Spread the word to students you know interested in a STEM degree: This Sunday you can explore more than 200 colleges and universities from around the globe during a free Virtual STEM Fair, open noon to 4 p.m.

Register here >
 

Women of Aviation Week takes flight March 8-14

"Women Of Aviation Week is a global aviation awareness week for girls of all ages and observed to mark the anniversary of the world’s first female pilot licence (March 8, 1910).The week is a call to address gender imbalance in the air and space industry." – Women of Aviation Worldwide

To celebrate locally, check out this fantastic calendar of activities from Garmin, open to all:

• Tuesday, March 9: Take a virtual tour of the Garmin hangar.
• Wednesday, March 10: Meet some of the talented women who work in Garmin aviation.
• Thursday, March 11: Enjoy a fun and informational, hands-on STEM activity, demonstrating the effects of air pressure.
• Friday, March 12: Live Q&A with Garmin aviation professionals at 1:00 p.m. CT. Preregister now on the Garmin Careers event page. Can't make the live event? Watch the recording on the Women of Aviaton Week site on March 15.
• Saturday, March 13: Aviation attractions, museums & resources

To receive email updates about these activities contact Kelly O'Connor.

See Garmin's 2021 Women of Aviation Week site >
 

Kansas City Invention Convention

Kansas City students have a new opportunity to put their imaginations and problem-solving skills to the test! The Linda Hall Library’s inaugural Kansas City Invention Convention, an affiliate program of The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, invites students in grades 4 through 12 to imagine new solutions to everyday challenges. With the support of teachers and mentors, and one-of-a-kind tips from living inventors and industry experts, students embark on a journey of creativity and growth.

Kansas City Invention Convention will introduce students to STEM concepts, entrepreneurship and more as they create their own inventions and have a chance to win prizes, scholarships and an opportunity to go to nationals. Students can enter as individuals or on a team. Details for educators, students and parents and mentors are available at kcinvent.org.
 

Share your 'intent to invent' by March 15 >
 

Check out this real-world learning challenge 

Now available: This real-world learning activity for high school students, student teams and classrooms asks students to decode the DNA sequences displayed on the outside windows of the new Children's Mercy Research Institute. Students can work through the challenge at their own pace and submit responses using this online form.

Students who submit their forms by 5 p.m. April 28 will receive an invitation to a virtual Town Hall event led by Dr. Tom Curran, CMRI Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer. During the Town Hall, set for 3 p.m. April 29, Dr. Curran and other Children’s Mercy researchers will reveal the DNA sequences and their variants, discuss how genetics are the key to unlocking hope and answer for kids, and participate in a live Q&A with selected participants. To ask a question of Dr. Curran about the CMRI and the research that goes on within it at the Town Hall, complete the response form by Wednesday, March 31.

Download the DNA Coding Challenge workbook to get started >

Remake Learning Days-KC // May 1-10, 2021

Add your camp information to STEM Connect-KC

Call for volunteers: Online project judging

KC STEM Alliance invites you to support online competitions for high school senior Project Lead The Way students this spring. You'll get a firsthand look at the ingenuity of our local students by reviewing their senior capstone projects in engineering design and biomedical research. And the best part is you can do it from the comfort of your home. This year’s judging window will be April 17-April 25. 

We need as many as 100 STEM professionals to participate in online judging, so please consider joining us in cultivating the next generation of innovative leaders for Kansas City!

Sign up to volunteer >

Project Lead The Way Teacher Talks

Unwind with fellow educators during Thursday afternoon Teacher Talks this semester. These Zoom sessions organized by KC STEM Alliance for PLTW teachers include insights from relevant industry and post-secondary partners and breakout sessions where teachers can compare notes with their peers. Here's the schedule:

• 3/11/2021: co-hosted by UMKC SCE Civil & Mechanical Engineering. Register here for the Zoom link.
• 3/25/2021: co-hosted by Stowers Institute, PLTW curriculum focus: Medical Innovations. Register here for the Zoom link.
• 4/8/2021: co-hosted by Black & Veatch. Register here for the Zoom link.
• 4/22/2021: co-hosted by Garmin, PLTW curriculum focus: Digital Electronics. Register here for the Zoom link.

Addressing the Gender Gap, starting with K-12

Check out the collection >

Download the Closing the Gap report >

FIRST teams innovate as competitions begin

Local FIRST Tech Challenge teams will compete virtually this weekend in the Northwest Missouri League Championships, where six teams will advance to state. You can tune into the awards ceremony via YouTube at 2 p.m. Sunday, in a joint presentation with the Southeast League Championship competition. Local teams also will compete March 13 in the Southwest League Championships.

FIRST LEGO League teams also compete this weekend with the first in a series of virtual qualifying tournaments, which will send teams to the virtual KC Regional Championship in late spring. And FIRST Robotics Competition teams are busy preparing for awards deadlines this month as they compete in Infinite Recharge 2021.

Stay up to date with the calendar for FIRST programs in the Kansas City region at www.kcfirst.org/events.
 

Apply to join the FIRST Youth Advisory Committee

To help inspire youth voice and leadership within FIRST, FIRST HQ formed the FIRST Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Youth Advisory Council two years ago. Members include students and recent alumni who love the FIRST community and want to help foster a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion within FIRST. 

FIRST is now looking for students who are 16 or older to join the 2021-22 Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Youth Advisory Committee, which will begin meeting in June. The application to join is open through March 31.

Learn more >
 

FIRST Scholarship Roundup: March Deadlines

Numerous colleges and universities offer scholarships for students who participate in FIRST. Check out this list of opportunities with March deadlines and scout out what's coming due in April.
 

Setting priorities for STEM education

In January 2021, more than 1,000 STEM leaders, families, teachers, after-school educators, and members of the non-profit and philanthropy communities participated in a series of Town Hall sessions to discuss what the United States must do to become a world leader in STEM.

The recommendations have been collected in a report called, “Restoring America’s Position As A World Leader By Reinvesting in STEM,” and is being distributed to the Biden-Harris administration.

Top Recommendations

    1    Foster collaboration to engage, leverage and link all relevant community resources – an adoption of the STEM Learning Ecosystems model.

    2    Introduce a collaboratively designed, performance-based system to ensure quality and alignment with strong post-secondary and/or STEM careers.

    3    Support a diverse, well-prepared and high quality teaching workforce, and ensure their involvement and leadership with students, administrators and higher education faculty.

    4    Encourage long-term student participation in STEM by increasing its visibility, relevance, connections to the real-world and community and global challenges.

    5    Build a strong early learning system.