If your child’s interests converge with STEM-related subjects (or simply a high school student who plans on pursuing science, technology, engineering, or math skills beyond their teen years), it’s a great idea to find tools, resources, fun activities, games, and extra curricular activities that facilitate their STEM education and prepare them even more for a related career. Before your student starts filling out college applications (which create a lot of pressure for young people these days), they should first explore the many popular activities and after-school programs that offer a great opportunity to demonstrate their STEM talents and also enhance their leadership skills, improve their academic performance, and cultivate diverse interests that will accelerate their path to becoming successful young adults (and getting their dream internship, scholarship, or college acceptance). Here are the 15 best STEM resources for teens that every gifted high school student interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can’t go without.
- After-School Activities
Today, almost all school districts offer afterschool activities and dozens of different clubs geared towards kids of all ages exploring academic subject interests, including math, tech, science, and engineering. It’s a smart idea for these teenagers to take advantage of those activities because let’s face it, not everything can be learned during the school day in a classroom – and that’s not a bad thing. STEM-related school clubs can feed students’ interests and devotion to certain subjects, while also providing invaluable hands-on experience and simultaneously facilitating their social skills, teamwork, and even leadership.
- Online Education
Teens can also take advantage of online classes and activities that help develop their brain and allow them to learn while having fun at the same time. Even some video games are now made specifically for kids who are interested in STEM activities, and a lot of them are so much fun that the kids won’t even realize that they’re learning. In many areas, the longer and more advanced online STEM courses allow teens to get college credit during their high school years.
- Summer Camps
As much as students may dread some school work, many kids admit they get bored during the summer months; the good news is that an engaging STEM summer camp can provide a great time for campers to try out an array of different roles and disciplines within the vast realm of STEM education, from building robots to coding apps to solving physics equations and watching their science experiments come to life before them. When kids have a love for something, they don’t even realize or care that they’re learning new skills or academic subjects, and since summer camps usually don’t last very long, they won’t be too overwhelming for the students choosing to attend. If you’re interested in this, check with your teen’s school, the local community college, or Impressive Teens STEM-related camp listings for more details and good fit opportunities.
- STEM Games
By “games,” we’re not just talking about video games. We also mean board games and tangible, physical activities that include STEM bins, robot activity sets, and many others that not only provide teenagers with a simple and fun way to learn more about these subject areas (aside from pure screen time), but also prepare them better for the future. The games are colorful, educational, fun to play, and most importantly, always teach them something they need to know to improve their future chances of success, from academic hard skills to time management skills and even life skills.
- STEM Organizations
There are also certain organizations that teens can join or enroll in to meet and spend time with other likeminded students who have the same interests they do. With these organizations, students can find themselves an informed and experienced older mentor who can answer all of their questions and give them the advice and assistance they need to take full advantage of everything the groups offer, which may include competitive teams (like robotics competitions) or STEM-related field trips to see engineers in action or on the job.
- Building Kits
Even a high school student can take advantage of activity kits that allow you to build robots, RC-operated toys, and so much more. Each kit is geared towards a certain STEM area, such as mathematics or science, and specified age range (from elementary to middle school to high school, etc.) to ensure the kit facilitates age-appropriate instructions and challenges.
- Magazine Subscriptions
It may sound odd, but there are now lots of educational magazines made just for teenagers and geared towards STEM activities and information. With these subscriptions, teens can be spoon-fed tons of useful information every month so that they are constantly up-to-date with the rapidly-evolving STEM world. These magazines are a great way for teens to learn not only about STEM subjects, but also how to become better readers and writers, which are skills every young person can benefit from.
- Personal Tutors
If a teen is interested in a certain subject area but feels like they need a little extra help learning what they need to learn to proceed or simply wants an accelerated or more advanced mastery, a private tutor is a good choice. Gifted or motivated teens can secure private lessons taught by subject matter experts (in-person or virtually), so whether your teen is interested in technology, math, or anything else, a private tutor can be a great option to give them an educational leg up right here, right now, from wherever they are physically and educationally.
- Online Videos
The best part about utilizing online videos is that the student can actually see and visualize the lesson and not just read about it, which tends to result in much faster and more solidified, long-lasting comprehension. When things can be demonstrated right in front of you, the things they’re trying to teach you become much clearer – especially for visual learners and pertaining to complex STEM topics that have real-world implications that can be demonstrated through experiments or on a screen. For this reason, STEM videos are particularly effective, even if this just means watching an educational YouTube channel that covers a new topic every day or week.
- Webinars
While we typically associate webinars with business meetings and conferences, they can also be utilized by teenagers who are interested in spending their free time learning instead of just engaging in a hyperactive social life. Many webinars are free of charge, making them perfect for teens who don’t have money to spend on expensive courses, but are still dedicated to long-form advanced independent education (which can put them heads and shoulders above peers who spend the same time at the movies with friends).
- Demonstrations
If a teenager spends time building a robot, coding an app, or applying their STEM knowledge to test or create an invention, they’ll likely want to show off their skills and what they’ve created. Public demonstrations, which they can do almost anywhere, are a great way to do just that, while also honing the student’s maturity and communication skills. At these demonstrations, they can show off their creations and demonstrate to the audience how the robot works, which gives them a lot of self-confidence in their abilities and recently acquired competence.
Web Adventures is a website sponsored by Rice University that offers apps and web-based games that teach teens about all areas of STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Instead of concentrating on just one area of STEM, Web Adventures allows teens to explore all aspects so they don’t feel unfamiliar with any of it. It is a great well-rounded website that endeavors to make STEM learning fun, accessible, and unintimidating for all students.
Geared specifically to girls, PBS Sci Girls is another site that teaches girls how they can succeed in STEM-related activities and careers. It includes a TV program that shows female scientists, as well as a site that they can explore even if they just use it as an extracurricular activity. It’s fun but educational at the same time, and the fact that it is made to help girls is an added perk, considering females have been underrepresented in the STEM field, and there are many initiatives to increase the number of women pursuing STEM degrees and STEM internships and jobs.
This site offers a ton of resources for teens interested in STEM, including webinars, case studies, educational resources, and even a database of various STEM programs, including programs for both students and teachers. With this one site, teens can learn problem-solving skills, study other successful teens and adults, become an expert at one specific area of STEM, and so much more.
This is the ultimate website for girls who are interested in becoming an engineer one day. Teens can watch interviews with female engineers, study the various types of engineering, learn enough to help them choose one as a specialty, find resources that teach teens exactly what they need to do to become an engineer, and engage in quizzes, contests, and mentor programs that will teach them in practical terms what it’s like to be an engineer. In short, it contains tons of resources helpful to future female engineers.