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Seaworthy STEM™ in a Box Overview

Seaworthy STEM™ in a Box is a Navy initiative to provide enhanced Naval-relevant, standards-aligned, hands-on activities to K-12 teachers and students.

The Seaworthy STEM™ in a Box kits were designed to guide students through scientific inquiry-based theory and the engineering design process, and support teachers as they select content, acquire materials and implement more hands-on STEM activities in their classrooms. The activities are grouped by themes and grade level to ease integration into educational environments and streamline training for volunteers. The various themed and standard-aligned resources allow teachers to develop their own curricular units to fit different learning environments (e.g. traditional classroom vs. homeschool, single grade level vs multiple grade levels, one-hour instruction vs. multiple hour instruction, etc.), student developmental needs, and schedules.

Components of this program include:

  • Open-source and free documentation for all activities (comprehensive lesson plans, material lists, scientific background information, STEM related literacy books, STEM career connections, and student activity sheets.)
  • NGSS-aligned activities connected to real-world context from Navy scientists and engineers, focusing on problem solving with 21st century skills.
  • Free educator workshops for each kit are led by educators and engineers.
Activities and Kits

Any activity in the Seaworthy STEM™ series can be done as a stand-alone event, or alongside other similar activities. The current themed kits target 4 distinct grade bands: K-2nd, 3rd-5th, 6th-8th and 9th-12th. Each unit is designed to reflect the recommendations of the Framework for K-12 Science and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) assembling and pieces of ideas developed across multiple activities to explore phenomena in our everyday lives.

  • Ocean Creations (Grades K-2)
  • Naval and STEM Connections (Grades 3-5)
  • Density and Buoyancy (Grades 6-8)
  • Innovative Engineering Design (Grades 9-12) COMING SOON!

Seaworthy STEM™ Alignment with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Legal Notice

The Seaworthy STEM™ in a Box curricula was developed through collaborative efforts of a team of individuals at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division and Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows via an inter-agency agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program. We are grateful to the following Content Specialists who contributed their knowledge and expertise by researching and writing on selected topics: Suzanne Otto, Stephanie Klixbull, and Thomas Jenkins. We’d also like to acknowledge the contributions of AEF participant Ms. Deborah Reynolds, the inaugural AEF Educator at Carderock that helped inspire the design of Seaworthy STEM™ in a Box content. The views and opinions of the Content Specialists expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the AEF Program, the U.S. Department of Energy, or the U.S. Government. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the AEF Program, the U.S. Department of Energy, or the U.S. Government.

K-2 Booklets
3-5 Booklets
6-8 Booklets
9-12 Booklets