Activity: Shape Your Flight

Help students in grades 5–9 make a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) connection with a paper airplane-based activity from NASA. Shape Your Flight teaches students about geometry and its relation to aircraft design. In the activity, students build a paper airplane, calculate the triangular area of the wings, and test and calculate the accuracy of their aircraft’s flight. The lesson plan includes instructions for building the paper airplane, worksheets to record design changes, and data tables. In addition, the lesson includes background information and links to learn more about aircraft design innovations currently in use at NASA.

Sim Lab Design Tool

Sim Lab is a design tool available in Tinkercad, Autodesk Software’s free web-based, three-dimensional (3D) modeling design app. Most appropriate for use with grades 4–12, the new tool helps students incorporate STEM principles into their designs and provides opportunities to experiment with 3D designs in a simulated space. Sim Lab draws inspiration from video games like Minecraft and Roblox, bringing the excitement and appeal of gaming into the design experience. Students can simulate the effects of gravity on their design, add materials (like rubber, wood, plastic) to an object, and build simple machines. A tutorial, Getting Started with Tinkercad Sim Lab, teaches users about the different material types available in the tool and how to manipulate them to successfully create simulations in Sim Lab.

Knowles Experiential Learning Project (KELP) Resource Bank

Looking for real-world lessons exploring the Galápagos Islands ecosystem? Check out the Knowles Experiential Learning Project (KELP) lesson collection developed by teaching fellows from the Knowles Teacher Initiative, a network of innovative high school mathematics and science teachers dedicated to improving education for all students in the United States. Designed for students in grades 9–12, but adaptable for middle and college levels, the lessons are anchored in real-world phenomena and address topics in biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, Earth science, and mathematics. Titles include Iguana Speciation, Citizen Science in the Galápagos, Climate Change and Galápagos Organisms, Using Corals to Determine Past Sea Temperatures, Ocean Currents and Climate Change, Natural Selection Game, Island Formation, and Erosion Analysis. Each lesson contains an Educator Guide, Student Guide, and relevant resource links.

President's Environmental Youth Award

The President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects developed by K–12 youth. Each year the PEYA program honors a wide variety of projects developed by young students, school classes and clubs, youth camps, and youth organizations to promote environmental awareness and action in schools and communities. Thousands of young people from all 50 states and the U.S. territories have submitted projects to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for consideration. PEYA applicants compete in two award categories—Grades K–5 and Grades 6–12—each with distinct evaluation criteria. Each award-winning project will receive a Presidential plaque. The sponsors of all qualified, non-winning applicants will receive EPA acknowledgement of the applicant's efforts to protect human health and the environment. (Deadline January 15)

Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE)

The award recognizes outstanding K–12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for learning for their students. Up to two teachers from each of EPA's 10 regions, from different states, will be selected to receive this award. Applicants must teach K–12 full-time in a public school that is operated by a local education agency, including schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education; hold a current teaching license from the state (or valid reciprocity from the state for a license from another state); have at least five years of K–12 teaching experience, including at least three years of teaching environmental education and/or an environment-based curriculum; anticipate a classroom teaching assignment involving environmental education for the upcoming school year; and be a citizen of the United States, its territories or possessions, or lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residency.

Teacher awardees will receive a Presidential award plaque and up to $2,500 to be used to further their professional development in environmental education. Teacher awardees will also receive a congratulatory letter from a senior EPA official and/or the White House. The teacher's local education agency will also receive an award of up to $2,500 to fund environmental educational activities and programs. Winners may be invited to Washington, D.C., for an award presentation ceremony. Apply by January 15.
 

KidsGardening Gro More Good Grassroots Grant  

The grant is designed to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens to communities across the United States. Any nonprofit organization, school district, university, government entity, or tax-exempt organization, such as religious organizations and Tribal governments, in the United States and U.S. Territories serving at least 15 youth is eligible to apply. Applicants must be planning to use the funds to install new or improve existing youth gardens or greenspaces. Awards: 170 recipients will receive a check for $500–$1,500 to support their initiatives. (Apply by January 31.)

VisChem Express for High School Chemistry Teachers

In this one-day, remotely delivered, immersive, and interactive mini-institute, participants will learn how to use the VisChem Approach. The Approach fosters conceptual understanding of chemistry using dynamic, particle-level animations, combined with constructivist teaching strategies, all informed by a cognitive learning model and the latest research on learning through multimedia. Participants will also access a comprehensive suite of free resources and join the VisChem community of practice through meaningful and supportive engagement with colleagues nationwide. VisChem Express is offered on three Saturdays in 2025: February 22 (register by January 25), March 22 (register by February 22), and April 26 (register by March 29). Teachers who meet requirements will receive a $500 stipend. 

VisChem is a National Science Foundation–funded professional development program and study (Award #DRL-1908121).