Providing high-quality STEM learning is bigger than simply presenting hands-on activities. The goal is to create an atmosphere of discovery where kids are engaged in creative and critical thinking. Asking good questions is an important part of creating the right environment. Through intentional questioning you can stretch young peoples' curiosity, reasoning ability, creativity, and independence.

Do you want to have clear skin and lose weight? The secret is to teach STEM! Well, perhaps not, however, STEM continues to be a driving force in education. STEM is fun, it is an increasingly important part of education, and parents are placing it higher on their priority lists when selecting programs for their kids. Make STEM a priority this year. Both you and the young people you work with will evolve as learners, and who knows? It might even improve your skin and make you thinner.

The 2016 NAA Convention is now only two months away! We've been working hard to put together the best program yet, and are excited to highlight some workshops we're most excited about. You can also preview all of our 140+ sessions on our website.

It's EASY!

Group management is a skill that is imperative when working in youth programs, and especially so when implementing STEM. It is important the adult leader carefully plan and prepare in advance in order to create the necessary structure for STEM learning—to make this process EASY, focus on the Environment, Activities, Schedule, and Your relationships and interactions.

We are at a unique place in time where STEM initiatives are influencing the future economy. Unfortunately, these initiatives are widening the gap between what students are learning in school and the skills they will need to thrive in a new digital and hyperconnected world.

He's a STEM educator, creator and trainer!

Andy Allan's educational philosophy is to engage young people's natural curiosity and creative thinking through fun active-learning STEM experiences.

We asked. You answered. We deliver.

Last spring, through the annual AfterSchool Today reader's survey, the NAA community expressed interest in additional resources to support science, technology, engineering and math—the subjects known as STEM.

As designers of engineering curriculum for children and young teens, we are frequently asked if our materials are "hands-on." In fact, we get this question more than any other. This obsession with hands-on perplexes us. We think people ask for two reasons—first, because they believe hands-on results in better learning; second, because they believe hands-on is essential to student engagement and learning.

Kids love technology! Wouldn't it be great if they could learn to make their own animations, video games or phone apps? In this webinar, learn how to get your students started with coding during the Hour of Code, a one-hour introduction to computer science designed to demystify code and show kids of all ages that they can learn the basics. Host your Hour of Code event during Computer Science Education Week, December 7 – 13, 2015. 

One of the highlights of NAA's inaugural International Learning Exchange was an afternoon at the London Science Museum with Dr. Kenny Webster, head of the museum's Learning Operations.