Kari Byron & Jenny Buccos are here to share all about the 2nd Annual National STEM Festival. EXPLR’s National STEM Festival inspires kids nationwide to engage with STEM, a mission more crucial than ever as we advance towards a technology-driven future and workforce.

Submissions for the 2025 National STEM Festival are open to young innovators across all 50 states and all U.S. territories until October 20, 2024. Top-scoring students, along with a caregiver, will receive an expense-paid trip to Washington, DC for the National STEM Festival, where they will share their project, network with top business and government leaders, and learn skills that will equip them for meaningful careers in the future.
Also, check out the Live & On-Demand conversations with people in super STEM careers on the National STEM Challenge website

EXPLR’s commitment to education includes work on a bill to establish National STEM Week, which will enhance STEM pathways for students across the country. The National STEM Week bill was introduced to Congress by U.S. Representatives Mike Carey (R-OH) and Joyce Beatty (D-OH). 

Kari Byron (former member of Mythbusters) and Jenny Buccos are the Co-Directors of the National STEM Challenge and Co-Founders of EXPLR.
(Learn more about the origin of the National STEM Challenge from Kari on Ep 255)

Connect with The National STEM Challenge:

• Website nationalstemchallenge.com
• Twitter/X: @national_stem 
• Instagram: @nationalstemfestival
• EXPLR Website explr.com

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Foldscope is the paper microscope that combines low-cost materials with precision optics. This innovation results in microscopes that are both high-quality and affordable, with a range of magnifications (50X-340X). From tiny microorganisms to larger samples like insects, plants, fabrics, and tissues, Foldscope can inspire kids to see beyond their own eyes wherever they may be! Foldscope can also attach to mobile phones for imaging and is very portable, durable, and waterproof. With that versatility, the possibilities are endless!
Look for the new projection microscope soon!

Connect with Foldscope:

• Website: foldscope.com
• YouTube: @FoldscopeInstruments 
• Twitter/X: @TeamFoldscope
• Facebook: @foldscope
• Instagram: @teamfoldscope
• Microcosmos (where people can post their Foldscope pictures and videos): microcosmos.foldscope.com
• Foldscope Blogs (to get ideas for things to look at and explore): foldscope.com/blogs/blog
• Learn more from Ep 204: dailystem.com/2021/06/11/stem-everyday-204-inexpensive-microscopes-for-everywhere-feat-jim-cybulski/

Holly Stuart is an Education Specialist at Foldscope and has spent the last 10 years as a science educator in both indoor and outdoor classrooms. She uses her background in Chemistry and Environmental Studies to seek out innovative teaching techniques to use with students. As an avid outdoor person, Holly takes her Foldscope with her on every hike and enjoys making new discoveries in the microcosmos. Holly is excited to help get Foldscopes into the hands of teachers and students so they can experience the joy of discovery as well.

Connect with Holly:

• email: [email protected]
• Twitter/X: @hollyastuart

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Kim Collazo was a public school educator for over 30 years, with experience as a 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classroom teacher as well as an elementary STEM Specialist and Digital Integration Facilitator. Working in Regular Ed, Special Ed, Academically and Intellectually Gifted, and two cycles of National Board Certification, Kim built a passion for integrating technology and engineering in relevant ways at the elementary level. She continues to help educators by helping the curriculum development team at Drone Legends.

Kim fulfilled a life-long dream to become a picture book author when she began her Emersyn Blake series, named after her first grandchild.

Find out about the CAMOES Mission Kim talked about

Connect with Kim:

• Website: collazocove.com
• Twitter/X: @kcollazo

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Sharon Hagle is an entrepreneur and astronaut who founded SpaceKids Global™ in 2015 with the mission to inspire STEAM+ Environment Education, with the goal of bringing the possibility of space to children.

SpaceKids Global, a Florida-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating elementary students in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics), and Blue Origin’s nonprofit Club for the Future, announced the winners of the 2024 SpaceKids Press Squad Competition. The competition will give eight lucky students from across the U.S. the opportunity to travel to Orlando, FL, visit Blue Origin’s Rocket Park manufacturing facility, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, and receive press training from a professional journalist.

Selected from over 1,100 entries across all 50 states, the eight lucky winners include: 

• Zone 1: Noelle, age 11, Bellevue, Washington.
• Zone 2: Tobias, age 10, Ronan, Montana
• Zone 3: Nevaya, age 9, Bismarck, North Dakota
• Zone 4: Anahita, age 11, West Lafayette, Indiana 
• Zone 5: Alethea, age 12, Burton, West Virginia 
• Boys and Girls Clubs: Zoey, age 11, Orlando, Florida
• First Responder: Vivian, age 11, Ft. Collins, Colorado
• U.S. Military: Malaki, age 8, Mexico, New York

The SpaceKids Press Squad will meet with Club for the Future Ambassadors from Blue Origin, including engineers, spacecraft designers, and managers, to interview and learn about their careers and experiences. The Press Squad may also watch the official live webcast of a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launch taking place at Launch Site One in West Texas from the Blue Origin Mission Control center in Florida. 

Follow SpaceKids Global to learn more about each winner leading up to the Orlando adventure. For more information about SpaceKids Global’s mission and to stay up to date on future events, visit spacekids.global

Learn more on Episode 266 of the STEM Everyday Podcast

Connect with SpaceKids Global:

• Website: www.spacekids.global
• Twitter/X: @spacekidsglobal
• YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCBbnk-mxgfULHMYkuVhCmKQ
• Facebook: @thespacekidsglobal
• Instagram: @spacekidsglobal

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Creating opportunities for young people to learn about patents by introducing invention education and IP literacy is an important part of STEM learning.
Lauren Strechay and Nicolette Buonora, recently graduated high school students, developed the Battery Swap System as their solution in a classroom challenge. After continued iteration, their Battery Swap System was recognized at the US National Invention Convention, earning a patent sponsorship and a finalist award, propelling Lauren and Nicolette to the global convention and ultimately a USPTO patent approval. 
From the US Patent and Trademark Office, Juan Valentin is an education program advisor in the USPTO's Students and Learners Division in the Office of Public Engagement, where he is responsible for the development and implementation of educational projects of national and international scope, with a particular emphasis on directing and coordinating the development of STEM, design-thinking, or invention-focused projects infused with intellectual property (IP) concepts. A significant part of Juan's job is cultivating relationships and finding areas for collaboration with external organizations, academic institutions, and federal agencies.

Prior to joining the Students and Learners Division, Juan was a patent examiner at the USPTO for 12 years, specializing in the art of optical measuring and testing devices. Juan holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Clarkson University.

Resources & Opportunities mentioned by Juan:

• Kids, students, and educators | USPTO
• National Summer Teacher Institute | USPTO
• EquIPHQ (uspto.gov)
• Master Teacher of Invention and Intellectual Property Education Program (MTIP) | USPTO

Learn more about Lauren & Nicolette's Battery Swap invention in this news story

Connect with The USPTO:

• Website: uspto.gov
• email: [email protected]
• Twitter/X: @uspto
• YouTube: @USPTOvideo
• Facebook: facebook.com/uspto.gov
• Instagram: @uspto

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Tara Koehler and John Sammon have been educators in New York for over 20 years. From their roles in classrooms to their current roles as instructional coaches, they don't lead from the sidelines. They get right in the game with the teachers to help them incorporate STEM, STEAM, and PBL in practical and efficient ways.
In addition to their classroom work, they provide PD with STEAM learning, steammachinepd.com, and just wrote a book outlining their best ideas for PBL,

The Tapas Approach to Project Based Learning, presents an innovative perspective on PBL by advocating a 'small bites' methodology. This approach emphasizes the benefits of breaking down complex educational concepts and processes into manageable, digestible segments, much like enjoying a variety of tapas in a meal.

Tara says "students learn best by doing rather than being told, and learning is not one-size-fits-all. Students should be actively engaged in their learning." John agrees, "my intentions are to deepen understanding through authentic learning experiences, where children engage with fundamental questions about the world and how humans have investigated and found answers to those questions."

Connect with Tara & Mike:

• Website: pbltapas.com
• Website for their PD: steammachinepd.com
• Twitter/X: @steammachinepd
• Twitter/X for John: @SammonSTEAM
• Twitter/X for Tara: @TKtalksSTEAM

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Mike Cairns is a creator & innovator. His career in drones took a quick turn one day at home. His son showed him a character he called "Ninja Gator" made with popsicle sticks and tape. An idea was sparked. “Why don't we make a connector system so you can build and reuse craft sticks without glue or tape!?”

Nurcs became that connector. Inexpensive & reusable, these small plastic connectors allow kids and adults alike to build bigger things than they have ever built before. After hundreds of prototypes and many long hours, they finalizes the proper proportions and settled on six standard pieces that allow people to build many different combinations of structures (and over seventy other combination pieces that may make their way into expansion sets down the road). The possibilities are endless and the quality is long lasting with this Made in the USA STEM resource.

Connect with Mike & Nurcs:

• Website: nurcs.com
• Twitter/X: @nurcstoy
• Facebook: @nurcstoy
• Instagram: @nurcstoy
• YouTube: @nurcstoy

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Ed Charlwood has been a Design & Technology teacher in the UK for over 20 years. He also just published the book Mastering Tinkercad to help kids better understand one of the simplest CAD programs. 
As an instructor and helper of educators, Ed has a mission to empower students with power CAD tools so they can solve real problems. Specifically: 

• Design is a superpower
• CAD is a tool in a superheroes belt. 
• We need tooled-up superheroes to save us, so we need our students to go to the dojo and master these tools.

Find out more about a free PDF of Mastering Tinkercad  for your students on CadClass.org (or get a super helpful paper copy)

Other episodes mentioned in this episode:

• #260 with Mike Harmon
• #248 with Josh & Jake from CadClass.org

People mentioned by Ed:

• Roma Agrawal, the author of Nuts and Bolts, Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way
• Bill Hammack, the Engineer Guy

Connect with Ed:

• Website: mrcharlwood.blogspot.com
• Twitter/X: @mrcharlwood
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ed-charlwood

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Jenny Young spent a great deal of time building with her father in their family’s garage when she was growing up. She learned how familiar things worked by taking them apart, and how to put them back together in new combinations. It was this hands-on building experience that stayed with Jenny and ultimately sparked the idea for Brooklyn Robot Foundry.

After getting a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Jenny worked in various areas of design, manufacturing, supply chain management and software development. It was when she was working in education technology that Jenny saw an overwhelming need for more open-ended, hands-on learning for elementary school students. Between reduced school budgets, overcrowding, and standardized testing, students were no longer getting an immersive engineering education.

In 2011, Jenny launched Brooklyn Robot Foundry at the New York City Maker Faire. The unique approach would combine kid-friendly projects with room for experimentation and creative design, resulting in working robots and elated, children.

Founded in 2011 and with four locations open currently, the brand focuses on sharing the fun of STEAM education with children everywhere, inspiring them to continue a life full of exploration, problem-solving, and imagination. They do this by offering fun, creative and educational classes, parties, camps and field trips to children 2-14 years old.

Their signature designs and building methods allow children to build on their own, resulting not only in a cool robot but also in increased confidence. They provide the guidelines for each day’s robots, but the final design is up to the student, offering a variety of programs, ranging in commitment from a single class to an entire semester.

Connect with Jenny & The Brooklyn Robot Foundry:

• Website: brooklynrobotfoundry.com
• Facebook: @robotfoundry
• Instagram: @robotfoundry

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show

Amy Ely has been a STEM educator for almost 20 years, building STEM curriculum and classes at multiple schools in metro Detroit. 

Now at Detroit Catholic Central, she is the Director of STEM and Science Teacher. Amy has over the past 2 years had the opportunity to help plan and open the George and Mary Turek Hall of Science. With tailored programs and state-of-the-art facilities, the new STEM center provides the extra support students need to excel academically and gain valuable skills and experiences that prepare them for higher education and future careers.

The George & Mary Turek Hall of Science, which will house CC's STEM curriculum and programs, and is scheduled to open for students in August 2024. The addition, funded by alumni and benefactors, will include a number of exciting features for students and the community:

• 57,000 Sq Ft of Learning Space 
• 8 Dedicated Science Labs
• 4 Versatile Lab Prep Rooms
• Cutting-Edge Engineering Lab
• 5,300 Sq Ft FIRST Robotics Competition Field
• Robotics Programming & Building Zones
• Fabrication & Machinery Room
• Innovation & Conceptualization Labs
• Multi-Functional MakerSpace
• Eco-Friendly Green Roof
• Sustainability Focused Greenhouse
• 130-Seat Immersive Lecture Hall
• 4 Meter Observa-Dome with GPS Computerized Celestron Telescope
• RedBird 180° Flight Simulator
• NASA MIE Alliance Partner

Connect with Amy & Detroit Catholic Central:

• Website: catholiccentral.net
• Learn more about the STEM lab: catholiccentral.net/academics/stem
• Twitter/X for Amy: @DCCSTEM
• Twitter/X for the school: @DCC1928
• Facebook: @DCC1928
• Instagram: @dcc1928

Chris Woods is the host of the STEM Everyday Podcast... Connect with him:

• Website: dailystem.com
• Twitter/X: @dailystem
• Instagram: @dailystem
• YouTube: @dailystem

Get Chris's book Daily STEM on Amazon

Support the show