STEM Blog

National Lab Day... it takes a village!

Have you ever had a great idea but simply did not have the connections to the right people to get it done? Have you ever seen a need, wanted to help, but had no idea how to get involved?   Making the right connections is the key.  National Lab Day is an attempt to help those connections happen for the benefit of STEM education. 

National Lab Day  draws on the strengths of multiple partners to do something that that none could do alone.  Powered by the combined efforts of The American Chemical Society, The National Science Association and over 200 other organizations National Lab Day is a collaborative effort of the best kind. 

This is how it works... teachers log in and submit a project idea.  The project can be anything from an idea for a long term challenge to a way to get more inquiry activities going on at their school.  Professional scientists, engineers and researchers sign in and search the projects.  When they find one that they think they can help with they use the website to make the connection with the teacher.  In addition, people  that are neither a teacher nor a scientist, but want to encourage STEM education can also choose a project and volunteer time, talent or funding (via Donor's Choose).

Click here to see a video explaining what National Lab Day is all about.   Don't let the fact that it is housed on a government site throw you.... this is a great idea.

While at the site, make sure that you check out the "Resources" tab.  It is AWESOME!  Chock full of things like hands on projects, lesson plans, lab ideas and games.  You can find them by clicking on the icon of the sponsoring organization OR sort by provider, subject, type of resource or type of audience.  There are many great ideas here. 

Thinking of posting a project idea?  Browse the "Projects" section to see what other teachers have posted.  There is a wide variety here.  It is easy to see that the sky really can be the limit. 

Find out what some VERY prominent people have to say about the project by clicking on "Testimonials"  It is really cool to see so many people in support of a project like this. 

Want a quick way to see what kind of STEM education  is  going in in your area?  The website has a interactive map that shows the locations of all of  the projects that have been submitted.  It is really exciting to see how people are jumping into the idea. 

I highly encourage all of the teachers I know to submit  a project.  There are lots of scientists and engineers just waiting to get involved.  Take advantage of this opportunity to make that connection and get great STEM education going on in your classes!

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Patti Duncan

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