This week in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) news, start getting your holiday shopping done with some great toys to promote STEM learning.

Top 10 STEM Toys to Encourage STEM Learning This holiday

The Huffington Post has put together a list of the top 10 best STEM toys that genuinely make learning fun. Examples of such toys include the 3D Maker, a toy that lets kids safely create 3D designs, and the Mighty Makers: Fun on the Ferris Wheel toy designed to encourage STEM play in girls.

Check out the full list here. 

100,000 STEM Teachers Wanted

The non-profit 100Kin10 is continuing on its mission to recruit 100,000 STEM teachers by 2021.

The organization is optimistic that its partnerships with over 230 public and private partners and the $86 million in funding it has raised thus far will help it reach its goal on schedule.

So far, the organization has recruited 28,000 teachers in four years.

Read the full story.

Opinion: Free Tuition for STEM Teachers

On the note of recruiting more STEM teachers, one columnist this week argued that more teachers could be recruited if they were given free tuition to go into the field.

"I suggest a state- and business-funded competitive program that pays full tuition at Arizona public colleges for students with highly proficient AzMERIT scores if they agree to work in our public-school system for a minimum of five years and major in the areas of greatest need,” said Earl Barrett.

Food for thought, indeed.

Read the full story.

White House Pledges $118 Million to Help Women of Color

Part of the White House’s pledge to help women of color will involve helping women of color get into STEM careers.

According to The National Journal, only 11 percent of bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering were held by women of color, only eight percent for master’s degrees and four percent for doctorates.

in order to help change this statistics, “[t]he White House launched a web­site high­light­ing the un­told stor­ies of wo­men in sci­ence and tech­no­logy, and held its first ever Demo Day for en­tre­pren­eurs from di­verse back­grounds."

Read the full story. 

Genes in Science Competition Winners Send Experiment to Space Station

The Genes in Science competition prompted students in grade 7-12 to use DNA analysis to answer a space exploration problem; the lucky winners are getting the opportunity to send their resulting experiment to the International Space Station to test it out.

Last year’s winner, 17-year-old Anna-Sophia Boguraev, will launch her experiment this upcoming March. Students who wish to participate in next year’s competition can apply here by April 20, 2016 to be considered. 

Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

11/17/2015