School vacation is almost here. Summer gives middle-school students time to pursue an existing passion or try something new—especially when it comes to STEM.

Katie Friedman knows firsthand what captures a middle-schooler’s interest. She works at the out-of-school time academic program Tutoring Plus in Cambridge, MA, as a Science & Elementary Program Fellow, thanks to a Massachusetts Promise Fellowship. This spring Katie’s group of sixth- through eighth-graders pilot tested a new unit for Engineering is Elementary's new “Engineering Everywhere” out-of-school time curriculum.

We’re still a little soggy from our stint at the gigantic USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, DC, last week. More than 325,000 visitors checked out interactive experiences  ranging from a model brain to flying robotic musicians; at our EiE tables, kids designed a model submersible for ocean exploration, then tested its floating and sinking abilities.

We were excited to welcome educators from across the nation in Boston last week for the annual meeting of the National Science Teachers’ Association (NSTA). One conference strand was “Engineering and Science: Technological Partners”—a very timely topic! The new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) put unprecedented emphasis on engineering as part of K-12 STEM instruction. In fact the standards recommend that engineering be raised “to the same level as scientific inquiry when teaching science disciplines.” But school days are already crowded. Adding engineering to the mix can sound daunting—especially if you don't have much experience with science or engineering.