Everyday STEM Saturday - December 2026

Everyday STEM Saturday is a monthly, hands-on STEM enrichment program designed to help middle school students explore technology by solving practical problems, building prototypes, and learning through experimentation. The November–January sessions form a connected learning journey: responsible automation, creative coding, and robotics. Each session is designed for beginners, so no previous coding or electronics experience is required.

Students will use the Engineering Design Process (EDP), participate in Executive Functions & Mental Performance activities, complete a mini-challenge, test and improve their work, and reflect on STEM career connections. A small cybersecurity connection will be woven into each session to reinforce privacy, safe access, data protection, and responsible use of technology.

Theme and Description: Students use beginner-friendly coding to create a personalized interactive holiday greeting or decoration. They practice sequences, events, loops, and simple decision-making, then test and refine the behavior of their creation. The cybersecurity connection focuses on privacy and safe sharing: students use fictional names and avoid placing personal or sensitive information in messages or displays.

Driving Question: How can code bring a creative idea to life?

Mini Challenge: Add an interactive such as a button-triggered response, animation, countdown, or repeating pattern.

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Each session is designed for beginners, so no previous coding or electronics experience is required.