Ready to get your STEM on at home? Starting this week, the Henrico Police Athletic League (Henrico PAL) STEM Club switches into full virtual gear as they explore hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fun for families. Updated each morning Monday-Friday on the Henrico PAL’s Facebook and Instagram pages, a virtual STEM Club will connect kids with engaging STEM resources from VPM’s PBS LearningMedia and others, including a Henrico PAL original, STEM Story Time! Access to the virtual Henrico PAL STEM Club is free and everyone is encouraged to join in!
Daily Features:
Mondays: iQ: smartparent, produced by WQED-TV brings parents, caregivers, and children together to explore STEM in the digital age. Explore the world of digital artists, edible STEM and fun at-home activities provided by VPM’s PBS LearningMedia.
Tuesdays: Have you heard that some of the hottest new jobs are in STEM ? Tuesdays are STEM career days with VPM Science Matters’ Hot Shots & Hot Jobs and ThinkTV/CET's A-Z Career Lab. "If you can See it, you can Be it!"
Wednesdays: Girls in STEM take center stage on Wednesdays, although boys are welcome too! PBS SciGirls knows that good STEM starts with good questions. And oh my, where those questions lead…
Thursdays: Grab a seat on a comfy couch and settle in for STEM Story Time with Daphne Schmidt, Henrico PAL STEM Coordinator. Children in grades K-3 will enjoy stories from around the world and discover that STEM is everywhere!
Fridays: Here’s your chance to see STEM in action! PBS NOVA brings STEM to life with The Secret Life of Scientists and Making Stuff. Picture a microbot—about the width of a strand of hair—that can travel into a human eye to treat a type of blindness. Alternately, PBS Cyberchase will send you and a team of animated sleuths on an odyssey of math mysteries!
The Henrico PAL STEM Club initiative was launched by Executive Director, Sgt. Kenneth Ragland, MS (Retired) , in February 2020 in recognition that STEM literacy has the power to open doors of opportunity to children who are frequently under-represented in STEM fields. The program took off quickly with rocket launches, engineering challenges, and team projects. Less than a month later, the COVID-19 crisis struck. Schools were closed and so was the Henrico PAL after-school STEM Club. In order to continue supporting local youth and helping them grow in STEM literacy, a virtual STEM Club was born.
Join in via Henrico PAL’s Facebook and Instagram pages for daily STEM updates with videos, activities, and opportunities to share your STEM projects with others.
For questions or more information, please contact Daphne Schmidt, Henrico PAL STEM Coordinator, [email protected].