The governor of Idaho is hoping to inspire more of the state’s students to pursue STEM through robotics by declaring August 7-13 the state’s Youth Robotics Week.

"A proclamation like this, I think, really brings awareness to these particular programs...For us, that's absolutely critical. Kids need to know that Idaho has robotics programs available,” said Angela Hemingway, the Executive Director of the STEM Action Center to KBOI2.com.

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New App Makes Science Fun with Potential to Identify New Species

eSchoolNews has written about a new app this week that has the potential to make science a fun opportunity for more kids.

Called iNaturalist, the app encourages children to explore nature with the possibility of discovering a new species.

The app is simple: users upload photos of insects and animals and the fun begins.

"Photos uploaded to the iNaturalist app are accompanied by a location, and from there, amateur and expert naturalists can examine the photos to identify the species,” says eSchoolNews.

"Activities and tools such as this app, which can be used for amateur biologists but also for classroom purposes, might be key to engaging students in STEM subjects,” the article says.

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Inspire a ‘Growth Mindset’ in Math with this Video Series

This video series is designed to help students think about math creatively and inspire the “growth mindset” that many experts have deemed so important to getting students, especially females, interested in STEM.

The series was developed and is being released by Stanford University’s youcubed math center.

According to THEJournal.com, the videos specifically "ask students, at regular intervals, how they see mathematical ideas and ask students to represent those ideas in a multitude of ways, including through pictures, models and graphs.”

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Family of Clock Building Teen Files Civil Lawsuit Against District

It’s been almost a year since the image of Ahmed Mohammed standing confused while in handcuffs caused national outrage. Ahmed was arrested after bringing a clock he built to school that school officials mistook for a bomb.

Ahmed received an outpouring of support from the country’s most prominent leaders of the science community and beyond; not long after the ordeal Ahmed was invited to the White House, an invitation he accepted.

Now, Ahmed and his family are suing the school district, a final move made after alleged attempts to receive money from the district in the past.

Ahmed, who is now living with his family in Qatar, says life is very different for him now and that he is finding difficulty in pursuing his passion of building and making.

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Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

8/12/2016