Join us for a hands-on workshop exploring how Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids curriculum materials engage K–12 students in learning about clean, safe, and lead-free drinking water. Participants will explore a flexible range of instructional materials, from short, high-impact lessons that fit within a single class period to multi-day, project-based learning (PBL) units that support sustained inquiry. Across these materials, students investigate why water is essential, how lead can enter drinking water systems, the health risks of exposure, and actions individuals and communities can take to ensure safer water. During the session, participants will experience sample activities as facilitators highlight how these activities can function as standalone lessons or be sequenced within cohesive PBL units. Participants will leave with standards-aligned, ready-to-use resources and guidance for adapting materials to fit their instructional context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how adaptable curriculum materials, from single-day lessons to full PBL units, can engage K-12 students in real-world, data-driven learning connected to public health and community action.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

This session provides an overview of the RECF Aerial Drone Competition (ADC) program and its advanced progression, ADC Pro. Participants will learn how ADC serves as an entry-level program where students develop foundational drone piloting, coding, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills through engaging competition experiences. The session will then explore how ADC Pro expands on these fundamentals by introducing advanced autonomous operations, mission-based challenges, air and ground robotics integration, and real-world applications inspired by industry needs. Attendees will gain insight into the competition model, competition timeline, workforce development opportunities, and how both programs create meaningful STEM pathways for students while preparing them for future education and careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insight into the competition model, competition timeline, and workforce development opportunities while learning how RECF Aerial Drone Competition and ADC Pro create meaningful STEM pathways that prepare students for future education and career success.

SPEAKERS:
Louann Cormier, Shelli Brasher, Nicole Mills

This interactive session explores how hands-on, project-based STEM experiences increase student engagement, academic achievement, and workforce readiness for learners of all backgrounds. Participants will discover proven strategies for creating robust STEM learning environments that expose students to real-world STEM applications, inspire curiosity, engage learners through experiential activities, and empower them to pursue STEM pathways and careers. Drawing from STEM NOLA’s nationally recognized Cradle-to-Career Model, which has impacted more than 250,000 students across the United States and internationally, attendees will learn how vertical mentorship, industry partnerships, workforce development initiatives, and community-centered programming create sustainable pathways . The session includes practical examples, scalable models, and take-home resources that educators, administrators, and community leaders can use to expand STEM access, participation, and long-term success.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain actionable strategies and a scalable Cradle-to-Career framework that leverages hands-on STEM learning, vertical mentorship, and workforce development partnerships to increase engagement, build confidence, and create pathways to STEM careers.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

For more than 50 years, the National Inventors Hall of Fame has celebrated inventors while advancing creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. At the heart of this work is Invention Education, which builds STEM interest and confidence alongside essential life skills. During this interactive session, participants will explore how Invention Education drives a student-centered approach through real-world problem solving, hands-on exploration, and exposure to innovative role models. They will also examine how triangulating data—from third-party evaluations to program observations—accelerates continuous improvement and impact. Participants will take the driver’s seat to build momentum and design their own high-impact roadmap for empowering STEM experiences through Invention Education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will get in the fast lane as they explore how Invention Education uses real-world problem solving, hands-on STEM learning, and data insights to empower students and drive meaningful, measurable impact.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

Experience a classroom-ready engineering challenge that integrates physical science and the Engineering Design Process. In this session, participants will investigate the wheel and axle as a simple machine by designing, building, and testing rubber band-powered cars. Through hands-on experimentation, participants will explore how wheel size influences speed, distance traveled, and motion. They will make predictions, conduct trial runs, measure distances, and collect data to identify patterns and draw evidence-based conclusions. By analyzing results and refining their designs, participants will develop an understanding of force, friction, motion, and energy transfer while strengthening their problem-solving, critical thinking, scientific reasoning skills, and increasing their fluency in using the Engineering Design Process. Attendees will leave with the knowledge, materials, and confidence to implement this hands-on STEM investigation in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will build, test, and optimize a rubber band-powered car while collecting and analyzing data to determine how wheel size affects speed and distance, leaving with a classroom-ready engineering design challenge.

SPEAKERS:
Toby Bothel, Nicole Mills

Artificial intelligence is reshaping STEM learning, making it essential for educators to rethink how students engage with complex problems. As AI can now generate answers and procedures instantly, STEM instruction must emphasize reasoning, creativity, design thinking, and authentic application. The Department of War (DoW) STEM is advancing AI literacy and innovation by connecting students to emerging technologies and STEM career pathways. In this session, participants will explore how AI is changing expectations for student work and learn practical strategies for redesigning STEM tasks to promote deeper learning, interdisciplinary thinking, and student agency. Educators will examine real-world applications of AI, identify opportunities for meaningful classroom integration, and leave with ready-to-use strategies that support both STEM learning and workforce readiness.

TAKEAWAYS:
Design STEM learning for an AI-driven world by shifting from answers to reasoning. Participants will experience using AI to enhance learning and connect classroom experiences to real-world applications and emerging STEM careers.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

In this interactive session, members of the DoW STEM Ambassadors cohort will showcase free, classroom-ready resources available through the DoW STEM ecosystem and its partners. Participants will explore hands-on activities, virtual and in-person learning opportunities, career-connected STEM experiences, competitions, educator professional development programs, and student engagement resources that support innovation, problem-solving, and workforce readiness. Ambassadors will share implementation strategies and examples from various educational settings while providing attendees with a curated toolkit of resources that can be immediately adapted for classrooms and informal learning environments. Participants will leave with practical materials, new professional connections, and actionable ideas to engage students in authentic STEM learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a curated collection of free, classroom-ready STEM resources, opportunities, and implementation strategies that connect science learning to authentic careers, innovation, and future workforce pathways.

SPEAKERS:
Daniella Hubbard, Stephanie McGrew, Elizabeth Colton, Nicole Mills, Sara Leikin

Transform your classroom into a hub of engineering innovation using everyday items! This interactive session will give 3rd-8th grade science teachers an engaging activity for integrating STEM engineering challenges into their classroom. Participants will dive into a hands-on activity to show how they can spark critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity in their students making engineering accessible, exciting, and highly effective, proving that impactful STEM learning is within reach for all. Join us to ignite curiosity and cultivate the next generation of innovators!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in a hands-on engineering challenge using everyday materials and leave with a ready-to-use classroom activity that builds problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity in grades 3–8 STEM instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills