LATEST NEWS & INFO Category: Students

The Army Educational Outreach Program, managed by Battelle, has launched the “We <3 Veterans Pin Design” challenge with Future Engineers. Students in fourth to eighth grade will use their 3D design skills to create a wearable pin that demonstrates their gratitude towards veterans. If chosen as one of the ten finalists, the pin will be printed and distributed to veterans who visit the National Veterans Memorial Museum in Columbus, Ohio! Students can complete this free, online challenge at home or in the classroom, […]

Guest post by Michele Ritchlin, Director of the Ohio Afterschool Network If you were to walk by a school in the afternoon as the bell rang, it might be natural to think that the learning day is done. School buses are filling up and pulling away. Students are walking toward home with their friends. For a brief moment their thoughts have turned away from the book they’re reading or the math homework they have. But we know that learning is […]

Guest post submitted by Rich Granger and Kenya Gray of DriveOhio, our long running partner DriveOhio – an initiative of the Ohio Department of Transportation and the state’s center for smart mobility on the ground and in the air – is preparing Ohio’s emerging workforce for the next generation of transportation careers. During the 2021-22 school year, DriveOhio is launching a new Smart Mobility Ambassador program for high school volunteers, in collaboration with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educators […]

OSLN shares our heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to Ohio’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Paolo DeMaria, who will retire from the Ohio Department of Education on September 24, 2021. Throughout his five-year tenure, Superintendent DeMaria was a strong supporter of STEM education and the Ohio STEM Learning Network. He served on the Ohio STEM Committee throughout this time, attending every meeting. There he drove critical conversations about the future of STEM and recognizing excellence in designated STEM/STEAM schools. Over the course […]

Recent malware attacks against American businesses have prompted greater awareness of cyber threats nationwide. Government and private entities are gearing up to ward off such attacks, but what about K-12 schools and the young people they serve? Do educators and children need to become “cyber safe” in school and at home? And, if so, how do they get started? One way is through the K-12 Cyber Challenge, which aims to help school staff members and their students become knowledgeable about […]

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, schools across the Midwest can enroll in a free COVID-19 testing program. The newly launched Midwest Coordination Center (https://www.testedandprotected.org/) will pair schools with testing labs to deliver weekly screening results to schools and other organizations. The Midwest Coordination Center is managed by Battelle, which also manages the Ohio STEM Learning Network. Testing under the program is free, including sample collection supplies and shipping materials. Providing access to easy, reliable, and […]

Not even a pandemic could stop the 1,500+ students from 25 schools who completed this year’s #STEMpowersOhio Design & Entrepreneurship Challenge. Yesterday, we hosted the culminating event for the challenge – our annual showcase of the solutions students have created after a year of learning about energy, the design cycle, and so much more. In place of the normal celebration at Battelle, students and volunteer judges met online. Students delivered four minute “pitches” detailing all their learning. Three student teams […]

Happy holidays from the entire Ohio STEM Learning Network team. As we close out this eventful year, we’re taking a quick look back at you, our audience of educators, administrators and parents. What were the posts about STEM education you found most valuable? Looking at our website analytics, here are the top 10 most read posts. For each, we’ve included a brief note about what you can expect from this program in the coming year. Teachers: Apply now for an […]

The Ohio STEM Learning Network proudly announces a new collaboration between science non-profit Battelle and NASA—Next Gen STEM: Space from a Distance. At https://nextgenstem.battelle.org, explore NASA’s standards-aligned, hands-on STEM activities and then join us for an informational webinar on 12/9/2020 to learn how to qualify for a free STEM crate with supplies for 30 students. Starting next year on February 1st, https://nextgenstem.battelle.org will feature standards-aligned design challenges designed for K-12 by NASA professionals. Each week will focus on a different […]

For 20 years, the Columbus-based PAST Foundation has been working to improve education and “link learning to life.” The PAST Foundation (Partnering Anthropology with Science and Technology) offers educational programs for students and teachers and evaluates others’ programs to measure their impacts and outcomes. In a new endeavor, the foundation has been chosen to lead the Central Ohio Hub of the Ohio STEM Learning Network. A STEM innovator at the foundation – and its “Queen of Queries” – Mary Schneider […]