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Million Girls Moonshot
The Iowa Million Girls Moonshot Minute
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October 2021
Welcome to the Iowa Million Girls Moonshot Minute! This monthly publication from the Iowa Afterschool Alliance provides dozens of STEM out-of-school time professional development opportunities and activities to strengthen the quality of programs across the state. We hope that you find these resources valuable! Learn more about the national Million Girls Moonshot movement here.
Million Girls Moonshot Resources
Featured Webinars
Engineering Mindsets
Introducing Artificial Intelligence Using Curiosity Machine
October 14, 2021 10:00am Central
Artificial intelligence can be fun, hands-on, and connected to real life, even for kids. In this training for educators of upper elementary or middle school students, Technovation will showcase our Curiosity Machine artificial intelligence lessons. With these free lessons, help your students learn, play and create solutions to real-world problems with Al. Learn what Al is, how it works, and how your students can use it to solve a problem they care about through our 10-lesson challenge. This is a great program for educators with and without STEM backgrounds!

Going Deeper: From Curiosity Machine to Technovation Girls Challenge 
November 4, 2021 10:00am Central
Calling all educators who are interested in teaching your students how to solve global problems with technology! While Technovation’s global program is tailored for girls, educators around the world are using this curriculum with all their students. Take your exploration of open-ended design challenges with your students to the next level by learning about this multi-week opportunity for students to dive deep into coding or AI and a passion project that could change the world and themselves. This program will prepare students not only to succeed as a STEM learner but as an entrepreneur as well.

Lessons Learned from Equity and Inclusion Community of Practice 
November 16, 2021 1:00pm Central
Million Girls Moonshot hosted ​a Community of Practice focused on Equity and Inclusion for afterschool networks during summer 2021, led by the National Girls Collaborative Project. Join us as we share best practices from the five sessions and hear from participants as they share their takeaways. Presenters will also speak to the successes and challenges they have related to implementing equitable approaches within their network and programs.

Role Models and Mentoring
Going to Camp with Camp GoldieBlox and the National Girls Collaborative Project
October 19, 2021 1:00pm Central
Join NGCP and Rachel Kessler from OregonAsk as we go behind the scenes of the new season of Camp GoldieBlox. We’ll preview some of the new episodes, and Rachel will share her experience as a consultant on the show. Then we’ll present additional resources created by GoldieBlox, including plug-and-play activities that are available to download right now. This is a great opportunity for both afterschool networks and individual program providers to explore online resources and hands-on activities designed to inspire the next generation of girls in STEM.

Parent Workshop: Growth Mindset in STEM
November 5, 2021 8:00am Central
Do you or your child find it difficult to try or learn anything STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Math) related? Join Technovation, and other parents from around the world, for this session based on Carol Dweck's research on mindsets. Learn what is a growth mindset, practices that can help to develop one, and how a growth mindset can help our children, and ourselves, become better STEM learners. In this session you will also have the opportunity to meet parents from around the world and support each other in this learning.

Quality Trainings with PEAR
Dimensions of Success (DoS) Certification Training
November 17th - 18th, 2021 9:00am - 3:00pm Central

Dimensions of Success (DoS) Recertification Training
November 30th, 2021 12:00pm - 3:00pm Central
Transformative Programming
For STEM Networks, Partners and Programs

Equity & Inclusion
Article: Exploring STEM Engagement in Girls in Rural Communities - Creating enriching and encouraging programs to engage girls in STEM is critical because girls and women bring unique experiences, perspectives, and ideas to scientific work. Besides benefiting the women themselves, having more women in STEM occupations will enable society to benefit from women’s expertise by maximizing innovation, creativity, and competitiveness.

Article: Infrastructures to Support Equitable STEM Learning Across Settings - STEM learning is a process that unfolds through dynamic interactions over time and across settings. Learn about design principles to support equitable learning across settings especially opportunities that occur in out-of-school time.

Engineering Mindsets
Article and Activities: What is Engineering? Video For Kids | Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Grade - activities and learning supported by videos and hands-on activities. Materials are easy to find at home and familiar to kids.

Article: The Mathephant in the Room - Research is beginning to emerge on areas in which students seem to be experiencing the largest loss due to the pandemic. Initial findings suggest that math may be at the top of the list. Learn how program providers can look at ways that we can help to close those gaps and foster an engineering mindset through parent and caregiver involvement.

Incorporating Role Models
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (September) 
The following assets can be used in your programs as you celebrate World Space Week (October 4-10, 2021)

Ayanna Howard Role Model Resources:

Diana Trujillo Role Model Resources:

Dana Bolles Role Model Resources:


Families
Toolkit: A Parent’s Role in STEM Education - To immigrant families, the overall school-to-work pipeline may be downright mysterious. The New York Hall of Science has identified five types of programs and resources that parents need.

Toolkit: Engaging Families in Mathematics Education - Families are a child’s first educator and this role does not halt on day one of school. Families lay the foundation for future educational success. Researchers have identified four best practices for engaging families effectively in mathematics education.

Article: 10X: Using Technology to Engage Families - From gathering information to modeling appropriate tech use to emphasizing the importance of conversation with children, learn 10 tips on using technology to engage families.

STEM Transitions, Handoffs, and Coordination
Research to Practice: Designing Learning Pathways: A research-practice partnership focused on parent brokering - Learn about a design-led research project to align youth-centered, interest-driven learning pathways with the needs and interests of a local community-based creative arts and technology organization. This case study provides one example of a design-led learning innovation to deepening interest-driven learning pathways for youth.
Activities for Programs
  • Student Design Activities: Science Fair Project Ideas - School is starting again!  Are you stuck looking for a science fair project? Over 1000 ideas and activities are listed.  And, there’s links to STEM careers associated with the projects!
  • Student Design Activity: Fun Math Games for Kids - Math Blaster - Save the universe as you learn math skills. This free online game engages kids in purposeful, other world (as opposed to “real world”) math. Fun to play alone or with others.
  • Student Design Activity: Cool Math for Kids - Combine math education and skills with the fun of gaming.
  • Student Design Activity: SciGirls | PBS LearningMedia - Videos document girls exploring engineering activities. Each episode features a different engaging activity.
  • Student Design Activity: Fun-A-Day Engineering Activities - Engineering activities for kids include printable instructions and videos. 
  • Student Design Activity: STEAMsational - Fun engineering and construction activities for kids and families. Kids make the connection between STEM and art.
Additional Virtual Professional Development
Addressing STEM Stereotypes and Biases: Facilitating Challenging Conversations with Youth
Stereotypes about who does STEM continue to be pervasive in current society. For girls, particularly girls of color, the cultural stereotypes of STEM disciplines as male dominated and white prevent them from seeing their current or possible future selves within these communities (Kang et al., 2019). How can adults and educators address these stereotypes and facilitate meaningful conversations with youth to break down STEM stereotypes, address biases, and build STEM identities? Join NGCP as we dig into this topic and hear from various perspectives on their experiences engaging in challenging conversations. Speakers will also share strategies and resources for addressing and discussing STEM stereotypes and bias with youth.
Mizzen by Mott Moonshot Connection
The Mizzen By Mott app delivers inspiring and engaging activities that spark learning in young people. Supported by the Mott Foundation, Mizzen is available at no cost to afterschool professionals! Encourage partners to download the Mizzen By Mott app to access STEM  activities at your finger-touch!  You’ll find it in Mizzen here.

Featured Activities & Playlists
  • Playlist: STEM Activities for K-5th Grade in Small Groups - This playlist is a great mix of engineering and science activities that are easy and fun for small groups of students.
  • Playlist: Science Notebooks for 3rd - 12th Grade - Keeping a notebook can help your students think and act like scientists and engineers. Sample these easy-to-implement strategies and lessons to bring science notebooking into your program.
  • Module: S.INQ Up Earth and Space for 6-8th Grade - Earth and Space is an inquiry and exploration-based curriculum that uses hands-on activities focused on the relationships between the earth, the solar system, and human impacts on our global environment.
This work of the Iowa Afterschool Alliance is made possible by funding from STEM Next and the Million Girls Moonshot Innovator Grant. The mission of MGM is to expand STEM opportunities, specifically in the field of Engineering, for girls across the United States, which is made possible through state partnerships.
Million Girls Moonshot | www.stemforiowa.org | bsamuelson@sppg.com