PBS News Hour has created a wonderful series highlighting STEM in our national parks. Student Reporting Labs celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service by finding unique STEM stories in national parks across the country. From white-nose syndrome in the bats of Kentucky, to a pygmy mammoth discovery in the Channel Islands of California, to flash floods in the desert canyons of Zion, Utah, youth reporters learned to practice their craft in the great outdoors battling wind, rain and mosquitoes, while solving problems such as how to get your crew and equipment two miles underground to your work site in the longest cave system in the world.

It is that time of year again and for our young ones going off to school for the first time it can be a little scary. PBS Learning Media has some great tips and clips to help our children prepare for some of the new experiences they will face. One of my favorite episodes that helps with this is from  Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Join Mister Rogers and Daniel Tiger as they prepare themselves for the first day of school. Through The Fred Rogers Company episodes, clips, activities and articles, help your children and students gain a much more thorough understanding of what school life will be like.  

Experiment with linkages in this SciGirls activity challenging students to design a shadow puppet with moving parts and use it to tell a story. The tradition of using shadow puppets to tell stories dates back thousands of years, making it one of the oldest forms of motion-picture storytelling. Shadow puppet theater originated in India and China, where the tradition lives on today. Shadow puppets are often used to convey culturally important stories, such as myths, legends, folklore and religious stories.

Look for IPTV Education at the following events:

• September 11 Exira-EHK Literacy Night (Elk Horn, IA)
• September 16 WiSE STEM Fest (Ames, IA)
• September 16 Curiosity Day (Storm Lake, IA)