The Build IT project is a university-school collaboration to increase precollege student interest and achievement in engineering, science, mathematics, and information technology through a novel underwater robotics project that utilizes LEGO Mindstorms kits, the NXT programmable brick, and related equipment. The project is being implemented in 36 socio-economically and academically diverse schools for students in Grades 7-12. Through a series of increasingly complex challenges, Build IT exposes students to science, mathematics, and engineering concepts such as buoyancy, Newton’s Laws, momentum

The focus of this literature review is out-of-school time activities in informal environments, a “vastly understudied” set of experiences (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development 1992), and the role these experiences can have in shaping the direction of youth to pursue STEM careers.

This 2010 ITEST Information Brief shares examples and data about how the ITEST program strives to connect workforce development needs and K-12 learning in and out of school.

America After 3PM is the nation’s most in-depth study of how America’s children spend their afternoons and spans a decade of data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. — the hours after school ends and before parents typically return home from work.

The projects described in this booklet represent the work that has been funded by the Informal Science Education program at the National Science Foundation. The outcomes of these projects have provided a wide range of opportunities for students, teachers, and the general public to become more familiar and interested in learning about science. Just a few of the impacts that have come about as a result of this work are: Wired to Win is expected to reach between 8 to 10 million viewers over a 5 year distribution period. In Boston alone, over 68,000 individuals have seen the film. Terrascope Youth

This report from the Exploratorium's Learning and Youth Research and Evaluation Center (LYREC) highlights trends, questions, and findings related to out-of-school-time science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (OST STEM) programs by drawing on the efforts of some two dozen federally funded programs that participated and presented their work at a conference held in Washington, DC in October of 2009.

ITEST LRC Idea Brief Volume 1 , June 2005 This Idea Brief shares tips and tricks from four different ITEST projects around planning and implementing summer programs.

In this report, Inverness Research summarizes their findings based on evaluating the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)'s high school program over 10 years. The report includes: A discussion of the theory of action and the rationale that underlies the AMNH youth programs A description of three of the programs that have been offered and the evolution in program design that has taken place over the years A description of the core common features of the programs

Preparing Tomorrow's STEM Workforce through Exploration, Equity, and Engagement is a product of the previous ITEST Learning Resource Center (LRC) and includes a series of six articles (plus a preface) highlighting key themes and lessons learned in the first five years of the ITEST program.