Category: Outside The Box - LEARN. THINK. EXPLORE.

LEARN. THINK. EXPLORE.

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

12/15/2023

Learn Constitutional law by playing the iCivics game "Do I Have a Right?" "In Do I Have a Right? you can run your own firm of lawyers who specialize in constitutional law. Decide if potential clients have a right, match them with the best lawyer, and win their case. The more clients you serve and the more cases you win, the faster your law firm grows!" www.icivics.org/games/do-i-have-right

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

12/8/2023

The Harvard Crimson student newspaper is hosting its global essay contest for high school students (13-18), with students choosing to write on various topics in various styles. Submissions are due by Jan. 31. For all the information, see www.essaycomp.org/.

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

12/1/2023

Students interested in logic and linguistics should check out the practice problems on the North American Computational Linguistics Open Competition (NACLO) site. If the practice problems are a fun challenge, the open round of the 2023-24 competition is on Jan. 25. Time to register! www.naclo.org/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

11/17/2023

Teachers Pay Teachers has a bunch of free Thanksgiving-themed logic puzzles and other activities: www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse?order=Price-Asc&search=thanksgiving%20logic%20puzzles%20free

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

11/10/2023

The Baltimore Museum of Industry is again sponsoring the Maryland Engineering Challenges with various competitions for students in 1st-12th grades. Those interested in participating should waste no time in looking at this year's choices, deadlines, and upcoming coach training workshops: www.thebmi.org/visit/plan-your-school-group-experience/maryland-engineering-challenges/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

11/3/2023

This quiz contains several questions about lesser-known aspects of North America that, if you get them wrong, might make for a fun learning diversion: play.howstuffworks.com/quiz/can-you-pass-this-difficult-north-american-geography-quiz (The quiz also contains at least one mistake. Let me know if you spot it.)

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

10/27/2023

For those looking to learn more about the context of the current fight between Israel and Hamas, Foreign Policy magazine has asked its experts and assembled a list of book recommendations: foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/22/israel-hamas-war-books-about-palestinians-gaza-history-conflict/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

10/20/2023

For those looking for STEM activities in the DC metro area, the Rockville Science Center hosts a weekly makerspace, clubs for math and chess aficionados, engineering and robotics teams, and frequent events for children, teens, and adults, like this upcoming workshop on the biotechnology of gene silencing: www.rockvillesciencecenter.org/event-details-registration/gene-silencing-workshop

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

10/13/2023

For those looking for something to read that combines adventure, science, and geography, Science News reviews The Deepest Map, a new book by journalist Laura Trethewey about "the high-stakes race to chart the world's oceans": www.sciencenews.org/article/deepest-map-chart-ocean-earth

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

10/6/2023

If you want to follow the brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park during Fat Bear Week -- or check out other nature/wildlife vistas around the world -- Explore.com has dozens of live cams that allow you to partake virtually: explore.org/livecams

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

9/29/2023

National Geographic's Explorer Classroom has returned for 2023-24, with free webinars designed to allow students to hear directly from a wide range of National Geographic explorers. For upcoming events or to register, see www.nationalgeographic.org/tickets/explorer-classroom/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

9/22/2023

For American high school students interested in studying outside the U.S., applications are now open for a variety of fully funded State Department programs, including the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES), the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX), and the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX Abroad). These programs all have different deadlines, goals, and participating countries. This link to the Department of State exchange search provides information about all of these programs and more: tinyurl.com/32xfy465

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

9/15/2023

NIH (the National Institutes of Health) offers loads of free resources for teaching health and life science topics, from bioengineering and microbiology to concussions, cannabis, ticks, and nutrition. There are even comics and a board game available for download! Most of the materials are for middle and high school, but there are some things for elementary school students too. science.education.nih.gov/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

9/8/2023

Checkology is a free video-based curriculum devoted to teaching news literacy, from understanding bias and conspiratorial thinking to making sense of data and evaluating science-based claims: get.checkology.org/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

9/1/2023

High school students in the DC metro area interested in the life sciences should check out Suburban Hospital's Medical Exploring program. Students meet every-other Monday evening in Bethesda and occasionally on school holidays to take field trips and learn about careers in medicine from some of the region's top doctors and healthcare professionals. The virtual info session for this year is Monday, Sept. 18 (6-7 pm). For more information or to register for the info session, see medical-exploring-info.events.suburbanhospital.org/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

8/25/2023

If you're looking for geography trivia (or great maps) to expand your learning, the Map Shop has a section of its website devoted to geography trivia questions and their answers: www.mapshop.com/trivia

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

8/18/2023

Looking for a different game to play, one that invites brainstorming and conversation? Brave Ideas is a new board game developed by President Lincoln's Cottage in partnership with Game Genius. The Cottage was "the place where Abraham Lincoln worked, and reworked, and reworked again his ideas surrounding the Emancipation Proclamation. These ideas changed the nation, and President Lincoln’s Cottage is dedicated to inspiring the same avenues for innovation in today’s world." To read about the Brave Ideas game or to order a copy, see www.lincolncottage.org/all-about-the-brave-ideas-game/.

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

8/11/2023

Global Nomads Group offers about a dozen free online classes to connect teens around the world, on topics ranging from architecture and medical research to ocean health and finance: gng.org/programs/courses/

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

8/4/2023

If you live in or will be visiting Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma or Texas, there's a special citizen science project for you: the United States Geological Survey is asking people in these six states to mail in dead butterflies, moths and skippers to help scientists research the causes that may be contributing to their declining populations. For more information, including the address to which you can mail your specimens, see www.usgs.gov/news/state-news-release/media-alert-usgs-calling-all-dead-butterflies-and-moths-six-states

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

7/28/2023

This resource from the information database company LexisNexis helps students (and anyone else) learn to fact check information "like a pro": www.lexisnexis.com/pdf/nexis/Nexis-webinar-how-to-fact-check-like-a-pro.pdf

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

7/21/2023

Geographical magazine (UK) has a new daily geography quiz. (A score of 75% or better wins you a discount on a Geographical subscription.) geographical.co.uk/quizzes

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

7/14/2023

The Powerball lottery is nearing a $1 billion jackpot. If you are interested in learning more about probability in the context of Powerball before you buy a ticket, this short (90-sec.) video explains how to calculate your odds of winning: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohjy5gO2txc

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

7/7/2023

If you are going camping with kids this summer, the National Park Service has a special Junior Ranger program on space technology, which includes a "space tech in your campsite" module: www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/junior_ranger_space_tech_explorer_tagged.pdf

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

6/30/2023

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a new exhibit on cellphones, from the complicated supply chain that gets one to you to how they work to how they are changing human lives around the globe. naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/cellphone-unseen-connections

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

6/23/2023

Now that the 2023 National History Day contest is over, students (6th-12th grade) are welcome to start work on projects for 2024. The theme for 2024 is "Turning Points in History." For history-loving students, NHD is one of the few competitions that encourage students to dig deep in an area of personal interest. Participants can compete in five different categories: research papers (individual only), websites (individual or group), documentaries (individual or group), performances (individual or group), or exhibits (individual or group). Be sure to check with your state history day organization about local qualifying events. https://nhd.org/en/contest/theme/