Great Internet STEM Resources

Code.org

https://code.org “Code.org® is an education innovation nonprofit dedicated to the vision that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science and artificial intelligence as part of their core K-12 education. We expand access to and participation in computer science in schools, with a focus on increasing participation by young women and students from other underrepresented groups. The leading provider of K-12 computer science curriculum in the largest school districts in the United States, Code.org also organizes the annual Hour of Code campaign, which has engaged more than 15% of all students in the world. Code.org is supported by generous donors including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and many others.“ —Code.org About page

NASA

https://www.nasa.gov “NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery. For more than 65 years, NASA has made the seemingly impossible, possible. At its 20 centers and facilities across the country and with U.S. commercial companies and international partners, NASA leads studying Earth science, including climate, our Sun, solar system, and the larger universe. We conduct cutting-edge research to advance technology and aeronautics. We operate the world’s leading space laboratory, the International Space Station, and will establish a sustainable and strong exploration presence on the Moon this decade through the Artemis campaign.” —NASA About page

Science Journal for Kids (& Teens)

https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org “Science Journal for Kids aims to make scientific research discoveries more accessible to the general audience and particularly to children. We do that by digitally publishing kid-friendly adaptations of scientific papers. In addition, Science Journal for Kids prepares and offers teacher’s aids and resources to enable integration of the scientific literature in a classroom curriculum.“ —ScienceJournalForKids.org About page

How Stuff Works?

https://www.howstuffworks.com “HowStuffWorks explains the curiosities of our world, delving into everything from cyber security and housecleaning tips to the physics of black holes and the history of slang. We provide factual, unbiased content that’s fun to read — seriously, check out this piece on the world’s ugliest animal and tell us you didn’t at least crack a smile when you found out why blobfish are so ... blobby.“ —HowStuffWorks.com About page

National Geographic Kids

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com This site hardly needs an introduction, but here goes… This is the kiddo version of the world-renowned National Geographic Society’s website, with videos, articles, and games to get kids interested in science and exploration. All of this to further the Society’s mission: “Using the power of science, exploration, education, and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of the world.”

Science Friday

https://www.sciencefriday.com (Shouldn’t every single day be Science Friday? Science Friday Monday, Science Friday Tuesday, etc.) “Science Friday is an award-winning producer of high quality, fact-checked, and trustworthy science news and educational programming. For 30 years, we’ve introduced top scientists to public radio listeners, and reminded them how much fun it is to learn something new. But we’re more than just a radio show. We produce a sweeping array of educational and entertaining science experiences through videos, podcasts, digital media, live events, citizen science, K-12 education and professional development, and at-home learning activities for families that directly serve hundreds of thousands of educators, parents, citizen scientists, and lifelong learners every year.” —ScienceFriday.com About page

Khan Academy

https://www.khanacademy.org “Our mission is to provide a free, world‑class education for anyone, anywhere. With practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard, Khan Academy empowers learners to study at their own pace, both in and out of the classroom. Covering subjects from kindergarten through early college, including math, science, reading, computing, history, art history, economics, financial literacy, SAT, MCAT, and more, Khan Academy focuses on skill mastery to help learners build the strong foundations they need to succeed in higher education and in their careers.” —Khan Academy About page

STEMpowerUP

https://stempowerup.com “[STEMpowerUP was launched] to help others find similar opportunities. Our platform consolidates STEM courses, bootcamps, scholarships, and events, providing one place where you can discover what you need to grow and succeed.“ —STEMpowerUP About page

Science Buddies

https://www.sciencebuddies.org “Science Buddies mission is to inspire and educate students of all ages with hands-on STEM explorations that reflect their unique personal interests. By providing highly personalized educational experiences, we drive student discovery, engagement, and learning in STEM subjects. Our vision is to develop high-quality scientist-authored explorations covering all key areas of STEM, from the classics to the cutting edge, in formats tailored for the needs of the audiences having the greatest potential to impact student STEM learning, students themselves, classroom teachers, informal educators, and parents. Free and open to everyone, we level the playing field, making STEM learning possible for students of all demographics.“ —Science Buddies About page

PBS Kids Cyberchase

https://pbskids.org/cyberchase/ Games, videos, and activities to get kids involved in a science- and math-based adventure to learn and save the universe from evil cartoon characters (it’s hard to believe those cute little characters are evil, but we’ll just go with the story). 😉 There are multilingual activities, as well, FYI.

Computer Science Unplugged

https://www.csunplugged.org/en/ “CS Unplugged is a collection of free learning activities that teach Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around. We originally developed this so that young students could dive head-first into Computer Science, experiencing the kinds of questions and challenges that computer scientists experience, but without having to learn programming first.” —CSUnplugged.org About page

Tynker

https://www.tynker.com “Tynker’s mission is to provide every child with a solid foundation in computer science, programming, and critical thinking skills to prepare them to become better architects of their future world. Our goal is to ensure that, by 2033, every high school graduate has been exposed to some formal coding education. We celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2022. We’ve helped more than 100 million kids learn to code. Our award-winning curriculum is used in more than 150,000 schools around the world.“ —Tynker About page

Stellarium

https://stellarium-web.org (This is the web version of the app.) “Stellarium Web [is] an online planetarium running in your web browser based on the open source Stellarium Web Engine project. Please report any bugs or ask questions on www.stellarium-labs.com or on our Github page. This web version of Stellarium is a [2-person] project: Fabien Chereau the original creator of Stellarium and his brother Guillaume.“ —Stellarium About page

PhET - University of Colorado Boulder

https://phet.colorado.edu “PhET provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. We extensively test and evaluate each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. These tests include student interviews and observation of simulation use in classrooms. The simulations are written in HTML5 (with some legacy simulations in Java or Flash), and can be run online or downloaded to your computer. All simulations are open source (see our source code). Multiple sponsors support the PhET project, enabling these resources to be free to all students and teachers.“ —PhET About page

Tinkercad

https://www.tinkercad.com “Tinkercad is a free web app for 3D design, electronics, and coding. We’re the ideal introduction to Autodesk, a global leader in design and make technology.” “Tinkercad is proud to be KidSAFE COPPA certified. Our lesson plans adhere to Common Core and NGSS standards for the classroom.“ —Tinkercad Home page

Alice

https://www.alice.org “Alice is an innovative block-based programming environment that makes it easy to create animations, build interactive narratives, or program simple games in 3D. Unlike many of the puzzle-based coding applications Alice motivates learning through creative exploration. Alice is designed to teach logical and computational thinking skills, fundamental principles of programming and to be a first exposure to object-oriented programming. The Alice Project provides supplemental tools and materials for teaching using Alice across a spectrum of ages and subject matter with proven benefits in engaging and retaining diverse and underserved groups in computer science education.“ —Alice Home page