December resources from Million Girls Moonshot

Special Opportunities

On-going and time-sensitive opportunities to engage in STEM learning, media campaigns and professional development opportunities with stipends.

Genomics Career Awareness Interest

Last year, the Moonshot celebrated DNA Day and exposed hundreds of students to possible careers in genomics with Illumina. Are you interested in resources and activities to engage students in learning more about genomics and DNA in 2024? Complete this brief form.

Computer Science Week (December)

CSEdWeek is December 4-10, 2023 and ‘tis the season to excite your students with computer science activities. Find ready-to-implement activities in the Hour of Code 2023 Kit.

Celebrating Hour of Code? Register your event here. Get tips and resources here!

Hour of Code 2023 Kit

Code.org has provided an Hour of Code 2023 Kit to give facilitators easy to implement activities to last through the end of the year! Find the Kit here and look for opportunities to recognize Native American Heritage Month, #NationalSTEMDay, Computer Science Education week and more!

Find the Hour of Code 2023 Kit Here

NASA (On-Going)

Earthrise - NASA’s Monthly Collection of Earth and Climate Science Resources

Earthrise will leverage NASA’s digital community of practice for educators, and a broad network of learners associated with NASA’s federal partners, to provide K-12 educators and learners with a focused, monthly collection of Earth and climate science resources from across the federal enterprise. Educators are now invited to register for this monthly engagement, with the first monthly collection of resources to be delivered in January and then monthly throughout the remainder of 2024. The primary focus is centered around access to Earth and climate resources for the K-12 community, with a regular working group to inform plans for carrying this through the summer and beyond as well.

This initiative began with intent to move the needle on educating our nation’s children and increasing their understanding of Earth and climate science, and the importance of protecting our home planet. The first issue will be released to educators in January 2024.

Register now to receive Earthrise monthly collections of resources starting in January 2024.

First Woman Camp Guide and Set of Hands on Activities

As NASA prepares to put the first woman on the Moon in the next few years through the Artemis Missions, join us in an opportunity to imagine the possibilities of future lunar exploration with your upper elementary and middle school students. This set of hands-on activities accompanies NASA’s “First Woman” graphic novel series, which tells the story of Callie Rodriguez, the first woman to explore the Moon. While Callie is a fictional character, the first female astronaut and person of color will soon set foot on the Moon. Intended for uses in afterschool and summer settings, this First Woman Camp Experience Guide will bring the excitement of NASA’s science and technology. Read the fictional story of Callie, the first woman and person of color on the Moon. Download the interactive graphic novel and mobile apps.

• Access the Guide and Graphic Novel
  1. December 7 at 6pm ET
  2. Jan 24 at 4pm ET

Surprisingly STEM Video Series

Surprisingly STEM is a video series that highlights exciting and unexpected careers at NASA. This series is designed to inform students about the broad range of career opportunities at NASA – outside of the typical associations of rocket scientists  and astronauts – and to break down perceived barriers for working at the agency.

• Monthly Release of new pre-recorded five-minute career episode

• Associated STEAM Activities

• Monthly Live Session with NASA expert to answer Student Questions

December 2023 - Marine Biologists

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is known for its launch pads, rocket launches and cutting-edge technology -- it’s also a national wildlife refuge! NASA has a team of biologists whose mission is to protect and preserve threatened and endangered species living near launch sites. Biologists Eric Reyier, PhD, and Bonnie Ahr share how their ecological work contributes to the agency’s larger mission and how they personally ended up on a boat in the Florida wetlands doing exciting work for NASA.

• View the Episode, Explore the Activity

2024 Solar Eclipse

Are you ready for the 2024 Solar Eclipses that will be visible across the U.S. on April 8, 2024? Connect with NASA to engage students and families:

• Find local viewing events using this listing or creating your own opportunity.
• Use NASA Resources, Videos, Lessons and Materials with students.
• Ensure Safe viewing

Everyone MUST wear solar eclipse glasses or use an alternate viewing method to look at any eclipse. Read more about eye safety during an annular eclipse on our web page and on this safety flier. 

Trainings

Math

Afterschool Math Plus Curriculum Training

Tuesday, December 12 at 1:00 - 2:00 PM EST

REGISTER FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TRAINING SESSION HERE

Date and Time	Afterschool Math Plus Curriculum Topic Areas
December 12 1:00-2:00pm EST	MusicMath: Orchestration Use fractions to create musical compositions, then perform the compositions using found instruments (pans, boxes, pencils, whistles). Create new combinations and permutations for the music fractions.

Note: Each webinar will include strategies to support a positive Math Identity (e.g., role models, career connections, family connections, literacy connections).

Previous Training Recordings: April, May, June, July, and August

Transformative Practices

• Equity and Inclusion in Computer Science: DEI Bytes - The Alliance for Identity Inclusive Computing Education’s "DEI Bytes" lesson series on YouTube focuses on developing equitable teaching skills for CS education, including topics on ableism, unconscious bias, and computing access.
   
• Engineering Mindsets/Computer Science: AI 101 for Teachers - This is a free, foundational online learning series for educators interested in AI. The series features lessons from Code.org, ETS, ISTE and Khan Academy to demystify AI, explore responsible implementation, address bias, and showcase how AI-powered learning can revolutionize.
   
• Engineering Mindsets/Computer Science: Teach Computer Science & Coding to Kids - This Google sponsored site supports educators to engage youth in coding activities.  It’s free, fun, and no computer science experience is required. The lessons are video based and cover a variety of subjects.
   
• Engineering Mindsets: Free STEM Resources for Girls and Women Who Want to Work in Data Science, Machine Learning and AI - This site lists activities for children, STEM resources especially for girls, math resources, and resources for teens. The resources focus on areas that depend on math and where women are most underrepresented.
   
• Engineering Mindsets Video: NASA’s Women in STEM 2023 - In this video, NASA celebrates Women's History Month 2023 by launching a new campaign to mobilize women at NASA to participate in student-centered activities as STEM mentors and role models. A transcript of the video Is available to connect to other resources.
   
• NGCP Webinar: Meet STEM Picture Book Author and Founder of Let’s Engineer! Sheryl Haft - This webinar is an exciting meet-and-greet event with Sheryl Haft, Founder of Let’s Engineer! and the author of the new book Mazie’s Amazing Machines. The book features dynamic illustrations, a fun fold-out spread, and even a QR code to meet Mazie in augmented reality 3-D that is sure to inspire budding engineers and creative out-of-the-box thinking. Watch the recording to learn about activities and discussion prompts to inspire girls and all young children in engineering!
   
• Role Models Assets from the IF/THEN® COLLECTION - These assets featuring IF/THEN® Ambassadors, Siobahn Day Grady, Assistant Professor Information Science/Systems and Bea Mendez Gandica, Program Manager and Founder, can be used in marketing, presentations, social media, and conference presentations.

Activities

• Code.org's Free CS curriculum - Free, flexible, and fun curriculum for every grade level (elementary, middle, and high school), includes lesson plans, videos, slides, assessments, and programming tools.
   
• Hour of Code Activities - A collection of one-hour tutorials designed for all ages in over 45 languages. Join millions of students and teachers in over 180 countries starting with an Hour of Code!
   
• What Are the Chances? - This activity includes and introductory video to illustrate the activity. Youth experiment with probability to tell how likely it is that an event will occur. (This means that for certain events you can actually calculate how likely it is that they will happen.) In this activity, youth will do these calculations and then test if your calculations hold true for reality.
   
• Educator Guide: Make a Planetary Exploration Balloon - This activity for grades 3-12 uses math and engineering to design a balloon and gondola system capable of supporting weight. In this design challenge students will then determine the mass needed to cause the balloon to ascend at a given rate, descend at a given rate, and/or maintain a constant altitude over a set period of time.