K-12 Resources

Amazing Educational Resources
By a Nation of Teachers (Literally)

Started by a Facebook group and now driven by a nation of teachers, the list contains links to over 800 resources. This expansive list contains activities and resources for both administrators and teachers alike.

You will find resources on every subject and links for administrators to numerous companies offering free services during your time of need. eSchool News is working to review many items on this list–check back often for updates.

ASEE PreK-12 Engineering Education
By the American Society for Engineering Education’s ASEE Commission

Collection of engineering programs for PreK-12 students and teachers provided by the American Society for Engineering Education’s ASEE Commission on P-12 Engineering Education, and ASEE Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

Blender
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and 2D animation pipeline.

Competency Model Clearinghouse
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
  • Identify specific employer skill needs
  • Develop competency-based curricula and training models
  • Develop industry-defined performance indicators, skill standards, and certifications

As part of the Industry Competency Model Initiative the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and industry partners collaborate to develop and maintain dynamic models of the foundation and technical competencies that are necessary in economically vital industries and sectors of the American economy. The goal of the effort is to promote an understanding of the skill sets and competencies that are essential to educate and train a globally competitive workforce.

Department of Defense (DoD) STEM Internships

Department of Defense (DoD) STEM internships allow high school and college students the opportunity to engage in hands-on research, solving real-world problems at DoD laboratories and facilities.

EngineerGirl
By the National Academy of Engineering
  • College Preparation
  • Interviews with Successful Engineers
  • Contests

The EngineerGirl website is designed to bring national attention to the exciting opportunities that engineering represents for girls and women. Why girls and women? Because despite an increase in female participation in many traditionally male-dominated professions such as medicine and law, women remain grossly under-represented in engineering.

Engineering Activities for Families and STEM Programs
By Engineering Is Elementary

Try Engineering as a Family! Whether you’re organizing a family STEM event or looking for fun STEM activities to do as a family at home, EiE Families has you covered! These hands-on, research-based activities promote collaborative problem-solving and build confidence in families’ understanding of the STEM disciplines. Designed for families with children ages 4-11. Activities are free.

For You | Teacher Resources
By the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence

Collection of resource links related to:

  • Career exploration,
  • Free offers for digital textbooks, and
  • Other resources related to transportation and beyond!


Gear Generator
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

Gear Generator is a tool for creating involute spur gears and download them in DXF or SVG format. Students can design gear trains and test the operation online.

getSTEM of Minnesota
By the getStem
  • Engage
  • Network
  • STEM Community Benefits

getSTEM is an online tool that has impacted over 66,000 students in Minnesota through hundreds of ASK | Offer connections between teachers and business professionals. getSTEM matches STEM needs with STEM resources in just minutes. Join us at getSTEM-mn.com and create a profile – then make an ask or offer.

Hour of Engineering
By Siemens Digital Industries Software

The Siemens Hour of Engineering is an engaging online program designed to engage the students in engineering and technology in as little as one hour with kid- friendly content. Using the new program, Siemens aims to inspire, engage and educate students about the role and fundamentals of engineering before they begin high school.
Learning content aligns with:

  • Science,
  • Technology,
  • Engineering,
  • Mathematics standards. 


IBM Activity Kits: Volunteer Your Skills
By IBM
  • Activity Kits
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Skill Building

MERLOT is another open education resource that houses curricular resources for all ages. If you are looking for instant curricular resources, MERLOT is a great start for open educational content available to teachers.

Ignite Afterschool
By Ignite Afterschool
  • Professional Development Training for Youth
  • After School Resources

We bring together resources, expertise and best practices to improve afterschool funding, access and quality across the state.We coordinate professional development and training to help youth workers be their very best (so youth get the most out of their after school experiences!) We listen to the broad field of afterschool to identify our most urgent shared needs, then work together to advocate for solutions that make the greatest impact.

ITEEA Engineering by Design
By the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association
  • Grand Challenges for Engineering
  • Standards-based K-12 program that ensures that all students are technologically literate
  • Leadership and support

The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) is the professional organization for technology, innovation, design, and engineering educators. Using constructivist models, students participating in the program learn concepts and principles in an authentic, problem/project-based environment. Through an integrative STEM environment, EbD™ uses all four content areas as well as English-Language Arts to help students understand the complexities of tomorrow.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA and the California Institute of Technology
  • Hands on Projects
  • At Home Toolkits
  • Engineering Contests and Competitions

Launch rockets, build robots, explore your world and beyond! Our projects, toolkit and contests will take you into space without ever leaving Earth.

Just For Fun
American Society for Civil Engineers
  • Hands on Activities
  • Online Games & Videos
  • Engineering Contests

Like games? Can’t refuse a good challenge? Try civil engineering out for yourself! On this website you will find hands on activities, educational games, and access to engineering contests that will further your students learning.

K12 Navigator
By the Central Minnesota Manufacturers Association

The K12 Navigator aggregates work-based learning resources that you can integrate into classrooms and/or workforce development programs.

Search by activity to find the opportunities that are right for you and the students or job seekers you are supporting.

  • Job Shadowing
  • Youth Apprenticeship
  • Company Tour
  • Classroom Speaker
  • Work-based Training


LinkEngineering
By the National Academy of Science on Behalf of the National Academy of Engineering
  • Live Chats with Leaders in PK-12 Engineering Education
  • Shared Resources
  • Content for Students and Educators

The LinkEngineering website is an online community of educators interested in providing meaningful engineering experiences to PreK-12 students of all abilities. LinkEngineering is a community of educators working with PreK-12 students in classrooms or other settings. This includes – but is not limited to – teachers, teacher educators, and administrators. The site allows members to connect with each other and engineering education experts.

Lucid Chart
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

Lucidchart is a web-based proprietary platform that allows users to collaborate on drawing, revising and sharing charts and diagrams. Allows for planning and communicating engineering processes and managing projects.

Merlot
By the California State University System
  • Teaching Materials
  • Peer Reviews
  • Academic Discipline & Support Communities

MERLOT is another open education resource that houses curricular resources for all ages. If you are looking for instant curricular resources, MERLOT is a great start for open educational content available to teachers.

Mike Rowe Works Sweat Pledge
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

There are 12 videos that explore each statement of The S.W.E.A.T. Pledge and the importance of four pillars— work ethic, personal responsibility, delayed gratification, and a positive attitude.
Minnesota STEM Teacher Center
By the Scimathmn and the Minnesota Department of Education
  • Tool Kits
  • STEM Course Materials

SciMathMN is a non-profit business, education partnership promoting quality science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Minnesota’s K-16 educational systems. SciMathMN partnered with the Minnesota Department of Education  to develop Frameworks for the delivery of Minnesota’s mathematics and science standards, as well as the MN STEM Resource Teacher Center.

Museum of Science at Home
By the Museum of Science

Our building may be closed. But science never stops. And neither does the Museum of Science! Here’s a collection of STEM resources designed to bring the Museum — to you!

MYSOLIDWORKS
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

Free 30 day trial of SolidWorks. Solidworks is a 3D modeling software used by industry, engineering and manufacturing. The 3DEXPERIENCE Works for Startups program provides free software, training, and co-marketing resources to help your business succeed.

NASA Museum

NASA’s vision is to discover and expand knowledge of the benefit of humanity. Its mission is to lead an innovative and substantial program of exploration with commercial and international partners ro enable human expansion across the Solar System and bring new knowledge and opportunities back to Earch.

NASA STEM Engagement
By the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • At Home Activities
  • Interviews with NASA STEM Experts
  • Content for Students, Teachers, and Families

NASA STEM engagement has activities and opportunities selected by NASA experts for both students and educators. Here, you can take a virtual field trip, make things out of materials you have at home, download apps and simulations, or just learn something new!

Notable Women in Tech Solitaire
Using a Women in STEM-Themed Card Deck for Lesson Planning

The Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) card deck contains 52 female cards. The front of each 6″ x 4.5″ card displays a picture of a professional woman with a short bio and achievements in her field(s). 

These STEM-themed cards are a fun and colorful way to keep the lesson planning fresh in your class, helping your students not get bored. Once you start this card deck, you will want to use it for every class or even as a visual aid during discussions. 

Check out the PDF below to learn how you can use this deck in your educational setting! Available in a Colorful Downloadable Version and a Black and White Printer Friendly Version.

Women in Tech Solitaire Lesson Plan PDF (Downloadable Version)

Women in Tech Solitaire Lesson Plan PDF (Printer Friendly Version)

Numworx
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

Numworx Solutions provides access to high quality online couseware for mathematics and other science education. 3d visualization activites to assist students to work in 3d modeling world.

Open-Source Engineering Textbooks
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

The Engineering Libraries division of ASEE provides open-source textbooks for engineering education. This resource promotes learning and provides access to engineering educational materials. Topics include general engineering categories, such as statics, fundamentals and CAD. Specific engineering discipline textbooks available; agriculture, biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical and computer, energy, environmental, manufacturing, industrial systems, materials science, mechanical, petroleum and mining, geological engineering and others.

PhET Interactive Simulations
University of Colorado Boulder
  • Online STEM Simulations
  • Interactive Classroom Activities
  • Supplemental Classroom Resources

Through inclusive design approaches, we are creating accessible interactive simulations that allow students to experience science and mathematical practices in new ways. PhET simulations are very flexible tools that can be used in many ways.

RTOL – Rapid Transition to Online Learning
By the Academy of Active Learning Arts and Sciences

RTOL is a free emergency roadmap for making a rapid transition to remote learning during forced school closures. This quick-start guide will walk you through a simple step-by-step process to maintain your continuity of teaching and learning in a crisis. This program is based on a simple question, If a teacher had just one hour to prepare to teach remotely, what are the most essential things she would need to know and do?

Scholarships for Engineering Students
By the Best Colleges
  • Engineering Scholarships
  • College Outreach
  • College ranks

The Best Colleges is a great resource for STEM scholarships and college outreach. Some scholarships are based entirely on academic merit, measuring student performance in school or on standardized tests. Other scholarships use mixed criteria, determining awards based on both academic merit and financial need. No matter the case, there is no shortage of academic scholarships available for engineering students.

Siemens STEM Curriculum
By the Tom White & Associates llc
  • Free Engineering Courses
  • Access to a free Software
  • Training for Teachers

FREE secondary school courses featuring curriculum with the intent of empowering students to develop their own solutions to the problem presented in each project. The use of project/problem based learning is the best approach to prepare students for what careers will demand in the future. There is less emphasis on the mastery of procedures and more expectation for original thinking, collaboration among team members, and innovation by students.

Siemens STEM Day
By the Siemens Foundation

Siemens STEM Day provides tools and activities for educators with every level of STEM expertise. Our goal is to take the guess work out of finding low cost, high-engagement activities that will fit easily into a 45 minute – 1 hour lesson. Plan a fool-proof lesson with Siemens STEM Day.

SkillsUSA Career Essentials
The Career Essentials Credentials
  • Advanced Courses,
  • Career Readiness Skills

The SkillsUSA Career Essentials suite engages students in defining, implementing and measuring their career-readiness skills along every point in their educational journey, whether it be middle-school, high-school, college/postsecondary including the adult learner. The curriculum generates high levels of student engagement and is built on evidence-based outcomes that support the industry-validated Career-Ready Assessment. 

Solar Education Projects
By Solar Education Project Founders

Solar Cookers are tools for STEM and multi disciplinary education. Find great lesson ideas & oven patterns here.

Student Training & Education in Public Service (STEPS)

As you know, most students have been forced to switch to learning online from home due to the pandemic. This abrupt change is challenging for any student (and their teachers and parents), but it completely leaves behind a huge number of underserved students who don’t have access to a laptop at home or even a reliable internet connection in many cases. And even when students are eventually able to physically go back to school, these disadvantages will still matter.

Equal opportunity is so important to all of us here at STEPS (Student Training & Education in Public Service), and we feel digital learning inequality isn’t being talked about enough. To help raise awareness about this issue and promote forward-thinking solutions, we created the following online guidebook:

SciTechMN Internship Program
By SciTechMN
  • Paid Internships
  • Networking
  • Hands-on Experiences

SciTechsperience is a free, state-funded program that connects STEM college students to a wide variety of paid internships in small to mid-sized Minnesota companies. Qualified companies receive a wage match that covers 50% of a STEM intern’s wages (up to $2,500), so they have a huge incentive to hire students registered with SciTechsperience. At least 200 spots are available in 2019-2020!

TeachEngineering
By the Engineering University of Colorado Boulder
  • At Home Activities
  • Free Curriculum
  • Maker Challenges

TeachEngineering is a digital library comprised of standard-aligned engineering curricula for K-12 educators to make applied science and math come alive through engineering design. Educators have FREE access to our ever-growing collection of activities, lessons, units, maker challenges, sprinkles, and living labs.

Technology and Engineering Educator Resources
By the Minnesota Technology and Engineering Educators Association

Various resources for educators related to Communications, Construction, and Manufacturing including: 

  • Curriculum,
  • Career exploration,
  • Distance education, and more.


Trade and Industry Education
By the Minnesota Technology and Engineering Educators Association

A variety of industrial occupations are prepared for by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).

These occupations include:

  • apprentice trades,
  • technical occupations,
  • and other industrial and service occupations.

The purpose of Trade and Industry Education is to prepare students to enter skilled trades and service occupations that involve the design, production, processing, assembly, maintenance, servicing, or repair of any product or commodity. A career and technical education program in trade and industry is one of the most diverse.

Virtual Classroom Support and Agricultural Resources
By the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators

Collection of resource links related to virtual classroom support and agricultural topics including:

  • Biology,
  • Chemistry,
  • Biotechnology,
  • Career Exploration,
  • Leadership and others!


Wevideo
Online Learning Instructional Content for Post-Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

WeVideo is an online, cloud-based video editing platform that works in web browsers and on mobile devices.

Youth Development Curriculum Library
By the University of Minnesota Extension

Science-based solutions delivering practical education and engage Minnesotans to build a better future.