Start planning your time at Convention! View the 2016 NAA Convention program book to see: complete workshop schedules and descriptions; plenary sessions; exhibitor listings and descriptions; and networking receptions and events.

The Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is calling all students in grades five through eight for another year of groundbreaking science exploration. This exciting competition encourages students to apply critical thinking to solve a real-world problem and communicate their idea through a video submission. Discovery Education has worked with NAA to develop specific resources to help afterschool professionals implement the Young Scientist Challenge with youth in their programs.

In a Web search for the word STEM, Google returns more than 200 million results. STEM today is a hot topic and Web pages are being created at a frenetic pace, which can be quite overwhelming for users. Websites may have outdated information, be difficult to navigate and, occasionally, even provide bad information. Your time is precious, so to help you navigate the World Wide Web of STEM information I am providing my current pick of some of the best STEM resources available today.

NAA16 keynote speaker Dr. Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania and a MacArthur "Genius" fellow, recently met with Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

At the NAA Convention, on Wednesday, March 23, we'll learn how to put cutting-edge research to practice.

The Learning Expo at NAA's Annual Convention is much more than rows of booths and giveaways—it's an engaging, interactive and educational experience you'll want to visit again and again! Learn about the most innovative and creative ideas in afterschool from our 100+ exhibitors, enjoy networking with your afterschool colleagues, and test hands-on experiences and products via the Learning Labs.

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.

An innovative guide called "Preparing Youth to Thrive: Promising Practices in Social & Emotional Learning" has been launched in an effort to help afterschool programs across the country bring social and emotional skill development to the youth they serve.

Recently, the NAA Convention was ranked as one of the top Educational Conferences for 2016 by STEAM Education!

STEM Gems are short discovery-based experiences designed to engage young people in active experiential learning. They involve little or no materials and may be easily implemented by educators who are not STEM specialists.