Engage your kids' minds throughout the summer with these FUN weekly at-home STEM projects! 

Ever wondered how DNA, the genetic blueprint of a life-form, can encode and pass on the information on how to grow and maintain that life-form? Just like a cookbook contains a complete recipe for a dish, DNA stores the recipe for the life of an organism. Although each human has a unique DNA sequence, the DNA in all of us is about 99.9% identical! In this activity, you will use pieces of candy to make a model for a short section of DNA—enough to get a sense of what DNA is like and how it encodes life.

What you will need: 

Get a more in-depth view into DNA with Harrison Ngue! Harrison Ngue is a fourth-year student at Harvard College studying biomedical engineering. Ever since his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was in middle school, Harrison has developed a strong fascination for medicine and scientific research. As an undergraduate, he’s putting that fascination to work as a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital where he studies cancer cells. Additionally, Harrison uses animation to assist students and educate others about biological and chemical processes through his YouTube channel Powerhouse of the Cell. 

Check out his Essence of Biology series which teaches foundational concepts in biology and is perfect for high school students looking to get a head start on their fall biology courses!

Watch Harrison's SciFest All Access video here. 

ScIC "Science is Cool" invites STEM educators from around the world to a globally attended event dedicated to Open Educational Resources (OER). We will explore this and other free to low-cost tools and resources that empower you to shape lesson plans according to your teaching style and classroom needs. Join STEM educators from around the world to hear from experts on how these incredible resources can make an impact in your classroom.

This institute will bring together educators, administrators, and education researchers to dive deeply into crucial topics in STEM education.

The Smithsonian Science Education Center will convene experts to explore actionable approaches, backed by research and best practices in science, engineering, and education. Through this institute, participants will engage with the Smithsonian’s action planning process, and build out a plan to take action in their own context on one or all topics.

Join us in the fall for X-STEM All Access to hear from scientist, explorer, and storyteller Albert Yu-Min Lin, Ph.D.! Also joing us in the fall, is NASA climate scientist and Elvis impersonator Josh Willis! You do not want to miss out on these two larger than life personailites AND more!