Have you used Engineering Everywhere (EE), EiE’s out-of-school-time program for youth in grades 6–8? This free-to-download curriculum empowers youth to become engineers and solve problems that are personally meaningful and globally relevant. EE units engage the youth in your OST program with context-setting videos, articles about real-world technologies, and exciting design challenges. If you’re curious, why not dip your toes into the water with Go Fish: Engineering Prosthetic Tails? It’s an EE unit that challenges youth to become biomechanical engineers as they design prosthetic devices that help animals in need. 

The pilot testing interest form is currently closed, but keep an eye on our blog and newsletter for Digital Storybooks project updates.

Last summer, EiE curriculum developers kicked off an exciting new initiative: EiE Digital Storybooks. As our August 2016 blog post describes, this project is an effort to better accommodate educators and learners by integrating our storybooks into a digital platform. Through collaboration with our outside partner, Alipes, these new storybooks are fully customizable. Educators can choose between abridged and unabridged versions while easily turning on or off features like vocabulary supports, discussion questions, and interactive animations. At EiE, we test our new products thoroughly to best ensure that by the time they reach the classroom, educators have a reliable product that works. We depend greatly on the feedback from educators and experts in the field. This fall, we are looking for classroom teachers to pilot test our digital storybooks. Click here to sign up for pilot testing and read below for more information about this exciting initiative.

A few weeks ago, we asked you to complete a reader survey. We were blown away by our readers' enthusiastic response! You gave us tons of great information that will help us make the blog and newsletter even better for you. You also asked some excellent questions about the blog, newsletter, EiE curriculum, and everything in between. We wanted to make sure we shared the answers with all of our readers!

We know that in July, the last thing educators want to think about is the upcoming school year—but hear us out! This August, we’re offering an exciting, free online professional development opportunity: Getting Started With EiE. With this back-to-school webinar series, you can get a jump start on your professional development and feel confident about teaching engineering in the fall. This series is for EiE educators who need a little support from our PD team—like those who are brand new to teaching engineering, those who have an EiE materials kit sitting unused on their shelves, and those who need a refresher on how our curriculum materials work. In this interactive series, you’ll connect with our PD providers and other educators to get ready to dive into hands-on engineering instruction with ease. Best of all, you can attend these free sessions from the comfort of your own home!

The National Science Teachers Association is holding its annual STEM Forum & Expo next week in Kissimmee, Florida. Members of the Engineering is Elementary team will be there, and we’d love to see you! Find us at booth #716 in the exhibit hall, check out our session on developing Engineering Habits of Mind, and visit us at the Elementary STEM Showcase! If you drop by our booth or attend one of our sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to enter a raffle for the EiE materials kit of your choice.