STEAM in Maine

The Maine Mobile BIOLAB offers no-cost cross-curricular STEM experiences. These activities will introduce bioscience to students in Grades 5 through 8 and allow them to engage with the engineering design process.

Maine Mobile Bio Lab

STEAM Foundations 

STEAM Foundations is a curated collection of resources designed to help educators and learners build a strong foundation in STEM through curiosity, creativity, and real-world connections. 

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Explore:

• Preschool STEAM Series | Infant/Toddler STEAM Series
  These pages provide videos and resources to explore strategies and teaching practices for supporting STEAM learning in preschoolers, with a focus on developing reasoning, creativity, problem-solving, and language and communication skills.

• Resources for STEAM 
  This Edutopia page is a collection of teaching strategies and resources to support STEAM education.

• WIDA Developing Language for Learning Mathematics
  Self-paced workshop to integrate mathematics instruction and reasoning with language development for multilingual learners. A free account is required to access this resource.

• Ruth's Reusable Resources
  3Rs' mission is to ensure that all students, from pre-k through high school, have the basic supplies and creative tools for literacy, STEAM, and health education through the environmentally conscious distribution of donated business supplies.

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 Engage:

• STEAM and Scientific Reasoning in Head Start
  Explore resources from Headstart.gov that integrate and develop STEAM and scientific reasoning skills at an early age.

• WIDA Bulletin: Scaffolding Learning for MLs in Math
  WIDA Bulletin outlining specific guidance and macro-scaffolding and micro-scaffolding math practices for multilingual learners

• Let's Talk, Read, and Sing about STEM 
  This handout explores how STEM activities are a good fit for the curious minds of preschoolers. It provides information on how STEM activities support learning, links to research, and guidance on implementing STEM with preschool children. 

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Apply:

• MOOSE STEAM Learning Progression
  MOOSE modules are purposefully designed with a strong STEAM backbone.

• Go STEAM Learning Hub
  Georgia Tech's STEAM learning hub features lesson plans that focus on authentic integration of STEAM in music.

• STEAM PowerED Maine Instructional Design Resources. This curated list of resources is designed to support STEAM teaching and learning.

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  Safety:

• Hazardous Waste/Universal Waste
  The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) offers laws, rules, and information regarding the handling of hazardous and universal waste.

• School Chemistry Laboratory Safety Guide 
  Safety guide for chemistry classrooms from the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission.

• America's Lab Report
  An examination of laboratory experiences as part of most U.S. secondary school science curricula, including sections on lab safety and design.

STEAM Connections

STEAM Connections is a curated collection of resources that explore the many ways STEAM connects to the world around us. 

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Explore:

• Discover Education STEAM Career Exploration
  This interactive career exploration tool supports students' understanding of STEAM-related careers.

• Wabanaki STEAM Resources
  Wabanaki Studies and STEAM-integrated lessons and resources.

• Maine State Numeracy Hub
  This resource is a dynamic, evolving space to support meaningful, relevant numeracy learning across all ages and contexts.

• Maple Bytes
  Maple Bytes is a Maine Department of Education–developed instructional program that invites students to explore the science and cultural significance of maple syrup through a unique blend of Wabanaki Studies, Computer Science, and Earth Science.

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 Engage:

• Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO)
  ELOs are experiences outside of the traditional classroom that emphasize community-based career exploration. 

• Data Science - Resources to support the use of data in STEAM

  • Data Sciences Academy

  • EDC Data Science

• WaterViz
  WaterViz accurately reflects water movement through a small forested watershed in New Hampshire in near real time.

• ARTEMIS II Interactive Tracker
  This interactive NASA website shows ARTEMIS II in real time as it travels to the moon and back.

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Apply:

• Maine Apprenticeships
  Database from the Maine Department of Labor of STEAM-related apprenticeships.

• Maine Climate Literacy Plan
  Framework for climate literacy in Maine, designed to build capacity and programs from interdisciplinary climate education.

• Maine Climate Action Plan: A Guide: Designed to help teachers and students better understand what climate action is happening in Maine and how to be involved.

• Maine Climate Office
  Interactive Climate Data in Maine from the University of Maine Climate Office.

• Computer Science Hub
  The Computer Science Hub is a library of educator-created teaching and learning resources.

• Acadia National Park Distance Learning Programs
  Acadia National Park offers 30 free virtual science and art programs for students in grades 3-8. 

Professional Learning

STEAM-focused Professional Learning Opportunities.

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The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is hosting two workshops for educators this summer about our Coastal Flooding and Sea Level Rise Community Science project. Through this project, youth identify how their community is being impacted by coastal flooding and what can be done to build resilience. There are two classroom curriculum units aligned with the project to help students understand the science behind coastal flooding, monitor local impacts, and plan for action in their own communities. These workshops will include educators experienced with the curriculum, subject-matter experts from GMRI, and local leaders involved in resilience planning. They are open to educators with any level of experience with Community Science, from elementary through High School. 

Workshop details and registration can be found here:

• Thu, July 16 - Rockland (exact location TBD)
• Tue, July 21 - Bath (Patten Free Library)

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July 16 –Mount Desert Island Geology

8:00 am – 3:00 pm

Join Acadia’s Education Team for an overview of geological programming and activities available for your students on Mount Desert Island.  This is an outdoor workshop. Come prepared for all types of weather; wear sturdy hiking boots; bring lunch, water, bug spray, and sunscreen. The day will include a 3-hour moderate hike with some steep scrambles through forest, brush, shoreline, and summit habitats. Activities best suited for Grades 4-8.  Pre-register to receive a workshop stipend ($200) and updates.

 Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/wtLqiTEzcr

By July 10, sign up.

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July 29 – Exploring Acadia’s Forests

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Join Acadia’s Education Team to review and share outdoor teaching activities for exploring forest ecology. Meet a tree, practice tree ID, set up a local forest plot, and review monitoring techniques your students can use to collect data over time. Talk about soil formation and collect soil measurements.  Share ideas and activities to take back to your classroom. Meet at Eliot Hall on the Schoodic Institute Campus, Schoodic Point, Winter Harbor, Maine, at 9:00 am. Coffee and lunch are provided; participants must pre-register to receive a workshop stipend ($200) and share food allergies to make sure we order meals for all participants.

Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/wtLqiTEzcr

By July 20 to sign up.

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August 21 – Acadia’s K-2 programming available to schools.

Meet a ranger for an overview of K-2 program opportunities and field trips.

Learn about our curriculum-based fall programs and help create future programming opportunities.

9:00 am – 3:00 pm Workshop takes place on Mount Desert Island; location will be shared when you register.   Participants will carpool to the program location, explore the area, and review a variety of K-2 activities. This workshop is intended for both new teachers and teachers who have participated in our K-2 programs for years. We want to share our opportunities and hear from you on how we can strengthen the programming we currently offer. Pre-register to receive a workshop stipend ($200) and updates.

 Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/wtLqiTEzcr

By August 17 to sign up.

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Professional learning opportunity open to Maine high school science, mathematics or STEM teachers

Hosted by The RiSE Center, University of Maine and Made possible by National Science Foundation Grant #2500129

Join University of Maine faculty for a STEM content session guided by inquiry and accessibility. You won't just learn about the content—you will experience it through hands-on explorations, small group discussions, and other active learning approaches. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss strategies for scaffolding these complex topics, making them both rigorous and accessible for their students. You may select to attend 1 of our 4 faculty-led content sessions. Each 3-day session will run July 27–29, 2026: Monday (9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.), Tuesday & Wednesday (8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m.)

There is no cost to attend this event, lodging and breakfast will be provided for those traveling over 65 miles and participating teachers will receive a stipend of $630 for full participation. Contact hours and lunch are included as well. Register for the session you desire once you add the event to the cart.

Force and Motion by Inquiry

Workshop leader: Dr. MacKenzie Stetzer, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy and RiSE Center Member

While the topics of force and motion are typically covered in introductory physics and physical science courses, students often find this material to be quite challenging. Some students are tempted to focus on memorizing lots of specific equations rather than engaging in physical sensemaking and ascribing physical meaning to those equations. In this content immersion, key concepts in kinematics and dynamics will be built from the ground up through a process of inquiry involving basic experiments and exercises, with an emphasis on sensemaking. Many of the strategies highlighted in this immersion have been successfully incorporated into physics and physical science courses for both high-school and middle-school students.

Teaching the Reasoning of Science (with examples from Chemistry)

Workshop Leader: Dr. Mitchell Bruce, Professor of Chemistry and Rise Center Member and Zoe Prats, PhD Student in STEM Education

Reasoning plays a vital role in innovation and the advancement of science. In this workshop, we explore how scientists reason about the submicroscopic domain—things that cannot be directly sensed—by constructing representations. Participants will work in teams to complete inquiry activities and reflect on how curricular materials, teacher knowledge, student engagement, and assessment can work together to make this reasoning explicit for students. Discussions will include teaching practices and how introducing this frame may provide students support for scientific reasoning.

Mathematical Models in our World: Sun, Sea, and the Sky

Workshop Leader: Justin Dimmel, Interim Director of The Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center), Associate Dean for Academics and Student Engagement, and Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and Instructional Technology, College of Education and Human Development

By embedding mathematical activity in the familiar experiences of the natural world, such as looking out to the horizon, observing light and shadow, or gazing at the night sky, we create opportunities for participants to engage in active mathematical modeling. This content immersion will feature outdoor mathematics labs (weather permitting), and participants will experience these activities as an active learner. Participants will also engage in group discussions on how to embed mathematical activity in our everyday experiences of nature. Time will be allotted to reflect on how to embed these outdoor labs into existing curricula and boost student engagement.

The Sun and the Weather: A Solar-Powered Weather Station

Workshop Leader: Dr. Nuri Emanetoglu, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering and RiSE Center Member

Solar energy can be used to power homes, businesses, towns, or a remote weather station. The principles of designing and using a photovoltaic electricity generation system will be introduced through a sample project based on an automated weather station powered with a solar panel and a battery backup. Skills gained, or reinforced, will include circuit design and analysis, circuit construction and testing, and programming using Circuit Python (or Arduino Uno).

To request a reasonable accessibility accommodation to participate, please contact the RiSE Center: risecenter@maine.edu or 207-581-4672.

The University of Maine System is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. 

Registration is open through July 10, 2026.

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Standards Review & Assessment

As part of the Maine Department of Education's commitment to supporting schools in delivering effective K-12 science and engineering instructional programs, this page provides links to resources to support the implementation of Maine's Science and Engineering standards.

Standards Review

 

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Assessment

• Maine Science Assessment
  Schedule: 
  - High School: April 1-17, 2026
  - Grades 5 and 8: May 11-22, 2026
  - Three sessions, each 50 minutes in length for high school and each 60 minutes in length for grades 5 & 8

• MSAA Science
  The Multi-State Alternate Assessment in Science, or MSAA Science, is Maine's alternate assessment for science. This assessment is administered in grades 5, 8, and 3rd year of high school and is designed for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.