AI Innovation Challenge for Afterschool Programs

Program sites can win up to $5,000 in this National AI Challenge!

If your program serves high school youth, the AI Innovation Challenge from STEM Next Opportunity Fund and the Panasonic Foundation is an exciting new opportunity to engage youth in AI learning and win up to $5,000 for your program site.

In this national competition specifically for high school youth in afterschool programs, young people identify a real-world problem they care about and use AI to research the issue, develop ideas, and strengthen a proposed solution while building valuable AI literacy and durable skills.

No prior AI experience or coding skills are required for youth or educators.

Learn more and sign up to get started!

September is Biodiversity Month

Biodiversity Month takes place every September to celebrate the rich variety of all life on Earth and highlight the urgent need to protect our ecosystems. Biodiversity, the "biological diversity" of our planet, is key to human survival. There are an estimated 8.7 million species of plants and animals on Earth, but biodiversity is more than just a count of how many different types of plants and animals (species) exist in an area or on the planet. Biodiversity includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species (species diversity), and between ecosystems (ecosystem diversity).

These free STEM lessons and activities help students learn about habitats, ecosystems, biomes, and conditions that can threaten biodiversity, including invasive species, climate change, and human interference.

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Talk Like a Pirate Day is September

Sail the Seven Seas with Pirate Science

Ahoy, matey! Pirate-themed imaginative play may have kids walking the plank, weighing anchor, studying the night sky and the movement of the ocean, using a spyglass to watch for other ships, perusing maps, and dreaming of treasure. This set of science and engineering activities helps kids explore STEM as part of pirate storytelling.

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"The Axis of Evil": The Universe's Unexplained Center

Physics says the center of the universe is everywhere and nowhere at once. But a controversial cosmic alignment has scientists asking difficult questions.

ACTIVITY

Do-It-Yourself

Earth's Water: A Drop in Your Cup

Our planet's surface may be mostly covered in water, but how much of that can we use? In this activity, students will see how water is distributed across different sources, how much can be used by humans, and will brainstorm ways to decrease their usage of fresh water.

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Invisible Ink with Turmeric

The same turmeric you might have out for Autumn cooking or as a seasoning at Thanksgiving, can be used as a revealing agent in the Secret Messages With Invisible Ink! chemistry activity. Write secret messages and then decode them using the kitchen spice. Investigate to find out what other foods or substances work as a decoding agent and why!

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