STEM news

Chief Technical Officer Of US Says Parents Can Use Activities To Get Children Excited About STEM. TIME (10/1, Abrams) reports Megan Smith, the Chief Technical Officer of the US, says that parents can get their children excited about STEM subjects by using hands-on activities to explain mathematical and scientific concepts instead of just teaching facts. Smith says that schools with student-managed gardens have higher science scores. Smith says, “Science is really discovery – you don’t know the answer. We’re so busy teaching children the fact that have been discovered, we don’t teach them the scientific method.” Ohio Elementary School Has Kindergarten Classroom Just For STEM Education. WKBN-TV Youngstown, OH (9/30, Bercik) reports Hilltop Elementary School in Canfield, Ohio has a kindergarten classroom dedicated to STEM. The classroom is set up for activities like building houses out of blocks to teach children STEM skills and how to work together in a group. National STEM Enrichment Franchise Teaches Fashion Design Courses, Expanding Number Of Campuses. US News & World Report (9/30, Golod) reports Zaniac, a national STEM enrichment franchise, has six campuses that teach high school students STEM skills around the country. Simon Hopkins, a senior at Park City High School in Utah, took a course on fashion design from Zaniac and now works as an instructor there. In the class, Hopkins learned about fashion history and how to use Inkscape, a graphic design program, to design his own clothing. Zaniac’s campuses are currently located in Utah, the Northeast, and Miami, but are planning to open more soon. Zaniac decided to offer a fashion design course at all of their campuses to attract more female students.