Sustainability
The dynamic and diverse STEM workforce provides students with countless real-world examples of people who look like them solving problems and building success. Spotlight unique sustainability leaders in STEM and empower the next generation of changemakers.
Sustainability
In Celebration of Earth Day, the Discovery Education STEM Careers Coalition (SCC) has released a curated collection to spotlight Sustainability professionals in STEM. Follow along as the SCC demonstrates how you can introduce your students to STEM with over 200 resources designed to uncover students' STEM skills to activate future solution seekers. Our exciting content includes resources ranging from hands-on student activations and lessons to the extensive database of career profiles and family activities.
Hands-On Sustainability for Classrooms
Explore timely and relevant ways to connect sustainability to students’ everyday lives with flexible, easy-to-implement activities. Spark creativity and collaboration in any learning environment.
Energy
From Rigs to Reefs
Students will discover how offshore oil rigs are repurposed to create artificial reefs. They will conduct research and create an infographic explaining why fishermen, divers, and others are concerned with the removal of these structures, how artificial reefs are made, and their benefits.
Water
Water Solutions
Students get a clear idea of the issue of water scarcity, while exploring their own original solutions to help create easily-accessible clean water. They will utilize everyday materials found at home to create, build, test, and optimize an effective water-filtration design.
Water
Every Drop Counts
Students explore the components of irrigation systems used around the world. They will investigate the challenges of different systems and develop an understanding of how irrigation systems can both contribute to and help our global water crisis.
Communities
Sustainable Innovation
Students will consider the potential benefits and risks of autonomous vehicles using a mechanical engineering lens. They will identify characteristics of community sustainability to help design their own proposal for implementing autonomous vehicles locally.
Food
Sustainable School Meals
Students will take the role of School Sustainability Manager as they focus on improving their school’s cafeteria. They will learn about sustainable food plans and create action steps to help decrease environmental impact and increase sustainability with their school lunches.
Manufacturing
Eco-Friendly Manufacturing
Students will investigate the textile industry’s impact on global water scarcity using engineering analysis. They will review strategies for reducing pollution while maintaining industry success, and draft clear guidelines to steer textile manufacturers to a more sustainable future.
Energy
Plastic Patrol
Students discover the environmental cost of “single-use” plastics, particularly the negative impacts on the Earth’s waterways. They will think constructively about plastic waste by designing, building, and optimizing their own solutions for re-using waste on a local level.
Communities
Power Down
Students take a closer look at energy consumption to understand how this impacts our air and environment. They will analyze how energy is consumed at their school, then use collaboration and creativity to develop recommendations on how to reduce energy consumption.
Food
Waste Not
Students think more critically about the negative impacts of food waste on the Earth by focusing on their own lives and communities. They will analyze the food waste that their class produces, then design and implement a plan to reduce, reuse, or recycle their waste effectively.
Energy
Harnessing Energy
Students investigate the different ways electricity can be generated from different types of energy sources. They will consider the efficiency, reliability, cost, and environmental impact of each, and work together to propose an optimal power solution for a ranger station in rural Alaska.
Communities
Creating Healthy, Sustainable Schools
Students explore the components of sustainability, as applied to their school community. They will suggest ways in which the health of their school community could be improved, and they will ultimately create a plan for redesigning a section of their school.
Exploration and Discovery
Fabricating our Future
Students investigate the applications of 3D printing in deep space. They will explore the challenges that are associated with a Martian habitat and they will develop a design for additive manufacturing that considers these obstacles and helps humans live on Mars.
Food
Recycling Food & Waste
Students explore the idea of composting from a national and global perspective. After researching what composting entails and the impact it can have, students will educate a target audience about this process in an effort to decrease waste and/or lessen global hunger.
Spotlight on Sustainability Careers
Introduce students to exciting sustainability-related careers with these curated profiles. Students can go on the job with real professionals working in a wide variety of industries.
ASCE
Renewable Energy Engineer
Renewable Energy Engineers are always looking for new ways of producing energy from sustainable sources. They find ways to use sunlight, wind, water, and geothermal energy to reduce the environmental impacts of energy production.
ASCE
Water Quality Engineer
Water Quality Engineers use a specialized understanding of science and mathematics to address environmental problems related to water such as pollution, water treatment, and access. They study the ways industrial and residential water treatment and irrigation systems interact with natural processes.
AES
Solar Engineer
Solar Engineers oversee the scientific process involved in harnessing the sun's energy to power homes, businesses, and industry. They combine a variety of STEM skills with leadership and problem-solving to supervise the design, installation, and monitoring of solar energy systems.
Arconic Foundation
Environmental Health and Safety Engineer
Health & Safety Coordinators manage the safety and wellbeing of employees working in industrial manufacturing facilities. They use their strong interpersonal and communication skills to ensure that all employees’ health and safety needs are met through the use of rigorous precautions and standards.
IF/THEN Initiative
Bat Conservationist
Conservationists are usually zoologists and wildlife biologists who try to find the solutions to threats that affect wildlife, such as disease and habitat loss. They may specialize in a single species of animal, such as bats. They are professionals who love science, animals, and the outdoors. Many are animal keepers and curators in zoos or zoological parks.
American Petroleum Institute
Geologist
Geologists study the physical aspects of the Earth and research the composition, structure, and processes of the planet. Geologists often help mitigate natural disasters, examine the effects of climate change, and work in government agencies & academic institutions, among others.
Featured Employee Hands-On Activities
Bring real-world career paths and activities to life in the classroom with sustainability-related activities that can be used to facilitate a STEM Careers Coalition Volunteer Visit.
Consumer Packaged Goods
Packaging Matters
Discover the difference between consumer packaged goods (CPGs) like food and personal care products, and “durable goods” like appliances and electronics. Students will innovate an existing CPG, complete with new packaging designed to attract more customers.
Water
Precision Irrigation Design Challenge
Delve into the challenges of irrigation in agriculture, industry, and at home by designing an irrigation system from recycled household items.
Consumer Packaged Goods
CPG Innovations
Take a closer look at the consumer packaged goods (CPGs) pervading students’ lives. After exploring the various types of materials used in CPGs, students will design a product of their own that is packaged in a way that is both sustainable and profitable.
Explore Sustainability at Home
Take advantage of downtime at home with sustainability-related activities for the whole family. Find fun ways to engage students in project-based learning and self-guided investigation.
Food
Grown From Groceries
Give your kitchen scraps a new life by regrowing them into full plants. See what you have in your kitchen and follow the directions below.
Energy
Watts Going On?
Think more critically about how your household uses energy with a simple experiment to identify the most energy-consuming appliance in the house.
Learning
Plastic Fabric Art
Explore the sustainability of everyday materials by creating a makeshift fabric from recycled plastic that can be used in artwork, fashion, and accessories.
