STEMworks

Engineering Adventures

Impact

In the past two years, more than 10,000 elementary-aged students in afterschool programs across the country have experienced the fun, hands-on Engineering Adventures curriculum, which has been shown to boost children’s interest and knowledge in engineering. Project leaders estimate that, with additional support, they could reach 80,000 more children in three years.

  • Target Audience
    • All Students
    • Teachers/Educational Leaders
  • Program Type
    • Curriculum/Instructional Materials
    • Teacher Development/Training
    • Hands-on/Project-Based
    • Informal/Out of School
  • Location
    • Nationwide
  • Grade Level
    • K
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

Contact

Melissa Higgins
Director of Curriculum Development

Email ProgramLaunch Website

Accomplished Program has been evaluated and meets the Design Principles for quality.

  • Need Accomplished
  • Evaluation Accomplished
  • Sustainability Accomplished
  • Replication & Scalability Accomplished
  • Partnerships Developing
  • Capacity Developing
  • Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
  • STEM Practices Accomplished
  • Inspiration Developing
  • Under-Represented Groups Accomplished

See full results

My third graders said the last week of school, ‘Good, now we are fourth graders and can join the after school STEM club!’ Thanks to Engineering Adventures, the word ‘STEM’ fires them up.

Denise Touchberry

Teacher, Manatee County School District, Florida

Design Principles

The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy. Programs must be Accomplished (accomplished) across all Design Principles, or be Developing (developing) in a maximum of three areas.

Overarching Principles

  • Need Accomplished

    Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.

  • Evaluation Accomplished

    Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.

  • Sustainability Accomplished

    Ensure work is sustainable.

  • Replication & Scalability Accomplished

    Demonstrate replicability and scalability.

  • Partnerships Developing

    Create high impact partnerships.

  • Capacity Developing

    Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.

STEM Principles

  • Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished

    Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience.

  • STEM Practices Accomplished

    Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.

  • Inspiration Developing

    Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.

  • Under-Represented Groups Accomplished

    Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.

Program Overview

Engineering Adventures (EA) is a free curriculum created especially for 3rd-5th grade children in out-of-school, after-school, or camp programs. The mission of Engineering Adventures is to create exciting activities and experiences that allow all elementary learners to act as engineers and engage in the engineering design process. Each EA curriculum unit presents children with real-world engineering problems that are relevant to their lives. In order to meet the needs of both after-school educators and the children they serve, units include fun, engaging activities with easy-to gather materials. EA’s goal is to make a positive impact on children’s attitudes, to help kids feel confident about their ability to engineer, and to help children see themselves as engineers. Preliminary research has shown that after engaging in EA units, children have more positive attitudes towards science and engineering careers, as well as their own abilities as engineers.

Funders and Partners

S. D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation, NASA