In April, the White House hosted an Early STEM Learning Symposium with the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and Invest in US to discuss the importance of active science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning for our youngest children. Just a few months later, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and New […]
Monthly Archives: July 2016


Preparing Students for Professional Game-Design Careers
July 28, 2016
The STEM Challenge team recently co-hosted a workshop at the The Tech Museum of Innovation with Cogswell College. John Duhring, Director, Strategic Alliances and Alumni Relations, provides some insight into some career paths for students interested in exploring a future in game design and development. There is an urgent call across U.S. universities to better […]

Good Narrative, Good Game
July 25, 2016
Global Kids, Inc. works to ensure that youth from underserved areas have the knowledge, skills, experiences and values they need to succeed in school, participate effectively in the democratic process, and achieve leadership in their communities and on the global stage. Many of the students in their programs are creating games eligible for submission into […]

Lessons from Dora the Explorer
July 19, 2016
Two of the leading researchers involved with preschool television program Dora the Explorer, Head of Education Research Mariana Díaz-Wionczek and Creative/Cultural Advisor Carlos Cortés, describe how the show evolved from merely featuring a Latina character to intentionally teaching Spanish, highlighting dual language capabilities, and promoting Latino culture. It was the early 2000s when Carlos Cortés, […]

Exploring Moholy-Nagy’s Artistic Process to Create Video Games
July 14, 2016
What does László Moholy-Nagy, a Hungarian artist active during the early 1900s, have to do with video game design? The National STEM Video Game Challenge and the Guggenheim Museum’s art education team partnered up last month to host a workshop that explored ways to apply Moholy-Nagy’s artistic process to the practice of game development. In […]

Getting Creative with Maker Spaces at the Capitol Hill Maker Faire
July 5, 2016
This past week, the Institute of Museum and Library Services hosted The Capitol Hill Maker Faire as a part of the White House’s National Week of Making. The STEM Challenge attended the Faire to network with other organizations and spaces that are also devoted to making and innovation. The Faire explored the best practices and […]