ACTIVATE (Advancing Computing and Technology Interest and innoVation through Teacher Education) is a new 3-year effort at Carnegie Mellon University for high school STEM teachers in the northern Appalachian region consisting of workshops for teacher development in computational thinking and computer programming using Alice and Java, and the creation of materials for participating teachers to allow them to present information to students, other teachers and administrators about computer science during classes, in-service days and similar professional meetings.

Five higher education institutions and one school system will work collaboratively with 90 college and high-school faculty (working in teams) to learn Alice—a software program—to take back to their classrooms to engage students in computer graphics, animation, storytelling, and object-oriented programming.

The goal of the project is to create and assess an adaptable scale-up model that enables the participation of underserved audiences (female, minority and low status youth) in intensive, experiential STEM learning, acquisition of 21st century skills, and increased engineering career awareness and interest.

Sixty teachers from New York City public schools, who will offer instruction to 5,300 students, develop “mystery modules” and kits using the content and technologies of forensic science. 300 students participate in summer camp intensives, field trips to forensic labs, and a final symposium.

Three hundred and thirty six middle school students (with a focus on girls) from 6 schools in the Baltimore, Maryland, area are engaged in IT learning experiences related to robotics, digital storytelling, animation, genealogy and nature.

One hundred and fifty grade 9-12 students work with mentors to develop critical IT skills involved in bioinformatics, molecular biology, and protein chemistry, and on the innovative uses of technology for collaboration, communication, and community involvement.

Sixty middle and high school teachers and 120 students from western Maryland and northern West Virginia use GIS to map watersheds and analyze impacts of human activities on stream ecosystems.

Sixty teachers from high-minority urban schools in New Jersey integrate robotics programming, engineering design and information technology into existing curricula for grades 7-12; students engage in ten robotics activities involving computer programming to solve grade-appropriate biomedical engineering problems.

Seventy-two ninth and tenth grade physical science and biology teachers, 180 students during summer workshops, and 24 guidance counselors in the School District of Philadelphia work with education and information technologies to study and apply concepts in nanotechnology and bioengineering. More than 8,000 students will be impacted during the school year.

Forty 10th and 11th grade students, many from underrepresented groups attending under-served New York City public schools, participate in a two year program in Comparative Biology and Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, including college-level biology courses and training in cutting-edge software, research equipment and other technology, followed by pairing with Museum scientists to engage in authentic science research.

Sixty high school teachers, 50 guidance counselors and 3,000 of their students in New York’s Hudson and St. Lawrence river valleys are challenged to design, build, test, deploy and interpret their own water quality sensors.

Seventy teachers, 35 guidance counselors and 140 students in an area around Hoboken NJ are collaborating with women and minority faculty to address a design challenge to program an underwater vehicle to perform tasks.