Teaching children about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known as the STEM subjects, is an imperative we here at Sesame Street take seriously.  STEM is not just a major part of the television show’s curriculum; Sesame Workshop makes print books, e-books, and mobile apps aimed at teaching young children about STEM.

Teaching STEM is a passion of ours, which is why we approached Ridgefield Academy in Connecticut to see if any of their teachers wanted to use our book Simple Science Experiments with Elmo and Friends, published by Dover Publications, in the classroom. That’s when we were introduced to Jerry Nash, a science teacher a Ridgefield who saw a way to take this teaching opportunity a step further.

He had his eighth grade students at Ridgefield Academy film the first graders who conducted the experiments. Then he had a group of third and fifth graders do a voice-over for an instructional science video he made. We were blown away by the time and effort Mr. Nash put into bringing Simple Science Experiments with Elmo and Friends to life. We wanted to feature a few clips from the video (see above) in the hopes that teachers and parents might be inspired to think about new ways they can make science fun and relevant for young children.

If you would like to learn more about Ridgefield Academy and the great educational work they do, click here. If you want to get a copy of Simple Science Experiments with Elmo and Friends, click here. And Mr. Nash wanted to let you know if you have any questions about his approach to teaching science, you can reach him here.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

CA Technologies Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Wittman and Super Grover 2.0

Students in the United States are falling behind their peers globally in the subjects of science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM. That is why Sesame Workshop and CA Technologies, a leading IT management solutions company, have partnered to encourage young children to focus on STEM learning even before they reach kindergarten.

The initiative will include a STEM hub on SesameStreet.org that will provide educational resources for preschool children. Resources will include original videos that teach STEM concepts, interactive games, hands-on lesson plans and activities. It’s all part of Sesame Workshop and CA Technologies joint effort to make math and science fun for young children.

“CA Technologies is proud to partner with Sesame Workshop and support the development of creative and interactive programs that engage children in STEM learning,” said CA Technologies Chief Marking Officer Andrew Wittman. “Through this initiative, we are hoping to help young people discover an interest in technology.”

While CA Technologies and Sesame Workshop’s partnership is new, both have focused on STEM education for some time. The organizations are participants in the 100Kin10 effort, a presidentially led effort to prepare 100,000 new STEM teachers over the next decade. CA Technologies and Sesame Worskhop are also members of the Clinton Global Initiative’s STEM education and Early Childhood Development working groups.

“We’re grateful to CA Technologies for supporting our work on STEM education and helping us reach more children with this valuable curriculum,” said Sherrie Westin, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Sesame Workshop. “Through early STEM education we strive to help children develop strong critical thinking skills and a better understanding of how things work to help prepare them for future learning.”

To learn more about Sesame Workshop’s effort to support STEM education, click here.

The Sesame Workshop Blog