The STEM Next Opportunity Fund today announced a multi-year grant to the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence as part of the Million Girls Moonshot. The Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation have joined STEM Next Opportunity Fund and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to launch the Million Girls Moonshot. The effort is designed to engage 1 million school-age girls in the United States in STEM learning opportunities over the next five years. The organizations will provide grant funding and in-kind resources to Mott-funded afterschool networks in all 50 states to increase access to hands-on, immersive STEM learning experiences. The first year Arizona grant, just awarded, is for $20,000.

The Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence plans to use the funds to help afterschool programs in the state provide STEM education. It will provide important training and professional development opportunities for its STEM partners in afterschool programs, with the goal to increase access to quality STEM programs across the state with an eye toward equity.

The 2020 School's Out, Make It Count Conference -- taking place virtually from October 10th - 30th -- will feature more than 60 virtual workshops, including seven sessions devoted to STEM learning.

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One of the featured STEM workshops is 3...2...1... Countdown to Rocketry with Jennifer Cheesman of PUSD11. In this workshop, participants will learn to create 3 types of rockets (straw, foam and stomp) that can be used with basic household, reusable materials. These activities are highly engaging and will get the most reluctant participant playing. All activities are taken out of the NASA Rocket Educator Guide, which can be downloaded for free.

Are you trying to implement project-based learning and can’t seem to move your students forward? Is your staff/team working through a challenging project? Grand Canyon University invites you to attend a free 1 hour webinar on Wednesday, September 23 at Noon (AZ time) for an interactive session on Agile Project Management. Guest speakers, Professor Rob Loy and Dr. Glenda Dilts, will be guiding participants through a game to model effective project management. Teachers may earn a 1 hour PD Certificate.

Are you an afterschool practitioner looking for high-quality, cost-free curriculum to help youth develop computer science skills and explore engineering? Consider participating in Engineer for the Week's Fall 2020 Sprint from October 5 to December 4, 2020. Over the course of 15 hours, students work alongside adult facilitators to build tech prototypes that address a social issue of their choice. Upon completing the program, students explore engineering, develop computer science skills and gain awareness of different career paths.