How do you want to bring STEM into your classroom or school district?
Day of STEM
Our Day of STEM program partners a primary or secondary school with a local business to bring STEM professionals into the classroom. This exciting day can also be delivered in a virtual or in-person format. It enables students to interact directly with STEM professionals and learn first-hand about STEM careers.
Future City
Future City is a project-based competition program where students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future, using the engineering design process to guide them and prepare them for competition. The regional competition-winning team advances to the National Competition.
Contrapt Wisconsin
ContraptWI is a middle school contraption competition. A contraption accomplishes a simple task in the most complicated, fun way possible. It allows students to work on engineering, simple machines, trial and error, physics, teamwork, and creativity skills. This is a unique theme-based competition offered to WI middle schools.
Computer Science Toolkit
Develop an inclusive CS education pathway for your students! This toolkit was created to provide district educators & teachers quick access to the tools and resources needed to build, sustain, and assess a CS program. The #MKETech ecosystem is looking for skilled tech talent - our local students can be that talent.
Engineering Machine Design Contest
The Engineering Machine Design Contest (EMDC) is an opportunity for teams of 3-12 high school students to design and build a complex machine that accomplishes a simple task using everyday objects with the guidance of a coach. Each year there is a new theme and added elements to the competition.
Project Lead The Way
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) provides transformative learning experiences for PreK-12 students and teachers across the U.S. PLTW creates an engaging, hands-on classroom environment and empowers students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills they need to thrive.
The AI Education Project
aiEDU is a non-profit that creates equitable learning experiences that excite and empower students with Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy. Whether you have nine weeks of class time or just five minutes, they have an engaging, easily implemented curriculum option for all. aiEDU’s utilizes research-based teaching and learning strategies + educational psychology frameworks.
Gearbox Labs
Gearbox has over 45 years of education experience in the classroom, education publishing, and children and adult learning as well as numerous awards for their work, the founders created Gearbox Labs to address an international shortage of STEM professionals. Their mission is to produce cutting-edge and rigorous STEAM education resources and programs for schools, homeschools, out-of-school programs, and self-motivated learners.
Hour of Code MKE
Hour of Code is available year-round, but every year in December your class can join millions of students worldwide in celebrating Computer Science Education Week. Learn about MKE Hour of Tech, a regional effort across southeast Wisconsin to inspire and show students the power of technology and innovation.
FIRST Wisconsin
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology) programs consists of three programs: FIRST® LEGO League, FIRST® Tech Challenge, and FIRST® Robotics Competition. The programs vary by age and challenge starting at age 6 and continuing through middle and high-school levels up to age 18.
NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge
The Fluid Power Action Challenge is a STEM-based competition that challenges middle or high school students to solve an engineering problem using fluid power. The students work in teams to design and build a fluid power mechanism and then compete against other teams in a timed competition.
Badger State Science & Engineering Fair
Every year BSSEF coordinates an exposition of student research projects in poster session format which includes one-on-one interviews with professional scientists in 8 different discipline categories, providing an opportunity for Wisconsin high school students to showcase their original research projects.
Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code provides after-school clubs for 3rd-12th grade girls to explore coding in a fun & friendly environment. The Summer Immersion Programs, are 2-week summer programs for rising 10-12th grade girls to learn coding & gain exposure to tech jobs.
MS Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS)
TEALS is a Microsoft Philanthropies program that builds sustainable Computer Science programs in high schools. We focus on serving students excluded from learning Computer Science because of race, gender, and geography.
STEM Grants from WI DPI
Contact the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to apply for grants for STEM programs and connect with WI DPI’s STEM Leadership Team. Also, review the resources on effective grant writing to help you fund your STEM programs.
BootUp
BootUp is dedicated to empowering elementary teachers and students through computer science. Since 2015, BootUp has worked with over 470 elementary schools impacting over 150,000 students, providing in-person professional development, coaching, and resources that prepare teachers to facilitate coding projects in Scratch and ScratchJr. Students are inspired through creative and interactive lessons that allow them to explore their personal interests with code.
Rockets for Schools
The Rockets For Schools program is a fun and exciting way for kids to learn about space technologies while providing them with an opportunity to be part of an extraordinary team-building event. It provides an opportunity for students to participate in aerospace technology and rocket launches: to learn about rocket construction and to perform as part of a team.
VEX Competitions
VEX Competitions foster curiosity and capitalize on competitions to prepare students to become future innovators. Tournaments are held year-round at regional, state, and national levels and culminate at the VEX Robotics World Championship each April. Also offered are opportunities to learn about aerial drone operations through in-person and virtual competition-based experiences.
Engineering Tomorrow
Engineering Tomorrow empowers the next generation of engineers through virtual labs, impactful projects, and inspiring mentorship. By providing students with hands-on engineering exploration, their students frequently report an increased interest in pursuing engineering as a career.
Northeastern Wisconsin Invention Convention
Through its Invent Wisconsin initiative, Hearthstone Museum in Appleton is the Northeastern Wisconsin affiliate of Invention Convention, a STEMIE-based program run by The Henry Ford Museum. Teachers throughout WI can use free invention education curriculum in classrooms to teach students the invention process. K-12 students then make their inventions after identifying the problems they'd like to solve. Students can compete in the spring at the local, state, and national levels.
If you know of a program we should feature, email Maureen Haeger - mhaeger@stemforward.org