AFRL STEM Outreach

10/17/2026

10/16/2026

FIRST LEGO League Challenge BIOGLOW Founders Edition Robot Game Updates from October 14, 2026:

10/08/2026

This is what we LOVE to see! So thrilled we could share our lending materials with your classroom to help spark some STEM excitement and joy for your students!

10/08/2026

UPDATED FLYER: Ohio FIRST LEGO League Challenge upcoming Coach/Mentor Workshop and Scrimmage in the Shaker Heights area. Please refer to the flyer for registration and contact information.

10/05/2026

‼️An update as of 10/09/2026:‼️

The student registration for this event has now been CLOSED. Thank you for the wonderful response. If your student registered they will be hearing from us soon.

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Attention High School Juniors and Seniors:

Registration is now open for the 2026 Fall Job Shadow Day on Thursday, October 22, from 8:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m! Hosted by the WPAFB STEM Outreach Office, this program gives 11th and 12th graders an exclusive look at real-world careers alongside Wright-Patterson's top professionals.

Students will begin and end their day at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, with arrival starting at 8:15 a.m (no early drop-offs). Transportation to on-base job sites during the day is provided, but students must handle their own ride to and from the museum.

To participate, applicants must hold U.S. citizenship, be in 11th or 12th grade, and submit signed consent from both a legal parent/guardian and a school official. Full-day participation is mandatory, and cell phone use is prohibited during the event.

Students should dress in business casual attire (slacks/khakis and polos/blouses; no shorts, t-shirts, or open-toed shoes) and bring either a sack lunch or money to purchase food on base. Drivers 18 and older must have a valid driver's license and park in the visitor lot.

Spots are limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so registration may close quickly once capacity is reached.

Click here to apply: https://buff.ly/1zA9MGE

Know a student, parent, or school counselor who should see this? Tag them below or share this post! What career field are you hoping to shadow? Let us know in the comments!

Free resources for K-12 educators.

09/29/2026

Try it Tuesday: How does sunscreen actually protect our skin from invisible UV light?

We all know we need sunscreen on bright days, but what is really happening when we apply it? We have a DIY lesson that lets kids see the power of sun protection with their own eyes.

This week for Try it Tuesday, we are highlighting our Sunscreen Science activity. Using simple dark construction paper and a few different types of sunscreen, students can test how UV rays bleach surfaces and how sunscreen acts as a shield against that damage. It is an easy, visual science experiment for the classroom or the backyard that connects directly to everyday sun safety.

Get the full instructions here: https://buff.ly/tCBQQ61

09/28/2026

Monday's STEM Minute: The Power of Pollinators

Did you know that creatures weighing just one-tenth of a gram are responsible for approximately one out of every three bites of food on your plate?

From apples and berries to almonds and vegetables, animal pollinators enable plant fertilization and sustain our agricultural food supply. While managed honeybees handle large-scale commercial farming, wild native species—like bumblebees and mason bees—are essential for maintaining healthy, biodiverse ecosystems in our own backyards.

Protecting both managed hives and native pollinator habitats is critical for the future of global food security.

What native flowers or plants do you grow in your garden to support local bees?

Learn more about pollinator science from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
https://buff.ly/ToL8okK

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09/24/2026

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we look back to September 24, 1889—the day Scottish physician Alexander Dey received a patent for the dial time recorder.

During the height of the Industrial Revolution, growing factories faced a major operational headache: handwritten time tracking was inaccurate and created endless payroll disputes.

Dey designed an elegant mechanical solution. His device used a large cast-iron wheel perforated with numbered holes. When employees arrived at work, they rotated a pointer arm to their assigned number and pressed it into the slot. This action rang a bell and mechanically printed the exact timestamp on a paper roll inside.

Dey and his brother formed the Dey Time Register Company, which was later acquired by the International Time Recording Company. In 1911, that business became one of the foundational building blocks that merged to create the enterprise giant we know today as IBM.

The lesson is timeless: you do not always need to invent an entirely new industry to build lasting value. Sometimes, solving an everyday operational bottleneck is enough to build the foundation of an enduring global business.

Source: IBM Heritage — The International Time Recording Company:
https://buff.ly/TKVj2a3

One of IBM’s chief lines of business once entailed helping clients accurately measure and record the passage of time

09/23/2026

The Air Force uses earthquake science to catch illegal nuclear tests.

For today’s "What’s That -ology?", we are looking at Seismology (size-MOL-uh-jee) — the scientific study of shockwaves moving through the Earth.

While civilian seismologists focus on tracking natural earthquakes, Air Force geophysicists and scientists at the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) use the exact same science to monitor global nuclear treaties.

By analyzing underground vibrations, AFTAC scientists can instantly tell the difference between a natural earthquake and a hidden underground nuclear explosion, protecting global security 24/7.

Want to see how civilian scientists work on this vital defense mission? Explore career opportunities at AFTAC: https://buff.ly/uucuCYK

We are America’s nuclear watch dog, dedicated to monitoring, detecting, and reporting data from foreign nuclear explosions or accidents.

09/22/2026

Try it Tuesday: How do scientists measure Earthquakes?

Earthquakes release enormous amounts of energy that travel across the globe as seismic waves. Seismologists use specialized instruments to detect and measure these vibrations, and we have a DY lesson that helps students build their own working model.

For Try it Tuesday, we are spotlighting our Seismograph Simulation activity. This hands-on engineering challenge allows students to design, construct, and test a device that records ground movement.

Download the step-by-step guide here: