Stem

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) revealed its inaugural Best Apps for Teaching and Learning list on Jun 30 at the American Library Association annual conference. Head of children's services at Darien Library, CT, Kiera Parrott highlights some of her favorites from the 25 winning apps that cover a broad range of subjects, inspire curriculum connections, and can be used for classroom instruction and public library programming.

On June 24, the National Museum of Mathematics in New York City kicked off its first annual National Pajama Party Week with the book launch of Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late (Fiewel and Friends) by Laura Overdeck, author and founder of the Bedtime Math nonprofit, an organization whose mission is to make nightly the math problem as common as the bedtime story. The event included math focused games for families and a book giveaway and signing by the author.

New York’s Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature has named Michelle Knudsen’s Big Mean Mike the winner of its Irma Black Award for the best read-aloud picture book for first and second grade and Andrea Menotti’s How Many Jelly Beans? the winner of its Cook Prize for the best picture book that teaches science, technology, engineering, and math principles.

Students are invited to enter the annual National STEM Video Game Challenge, and organizers are hoping school librarians will help mentor and support kids throughout the process.

ABDO has some great resources to help celebrate National Women’s History Month: two free tools to inspire girls in grades three to six to follow their dreams and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Every time Best Buy Mobile opens a new location in the U.S., YALSA will designate a public or school library in the vicinity to receive $2,000 from Best Buy to purchase digital library resources for teens. That library will take part in a community celebration to promote the partnership.

New York’s Bank Street Center for Children's Literature (CCL) has announced the finalists for its Irma Black Award for the best read-aloud picture book for first and second grade, and the finalists for its Cook Prize for the best picture book that teaches science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) principles. Both winners will be determined by students from around the world.

The Lego Group has unveiled Lego Mindstorms EV3, a radically redesigned upgrade to its popular robotics platform that’s designed to introduce a new generation of tech-savvy kids to the world of robot building and programming. Lego announced the new platform earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, timed to the 15th anniversary of the original Mindstorms debut.

If your experience with Minecraft has been trying to reduce the time your students or children play it, you’ll likely be surprised to learn who is behind a book series that features the perennially popular game.