4-H

Minnesota 4-H has a number of online STEM learning opportunities for youth. Links are provided with each science, technology, engineering and math event and some require advance registration..

4-H Agronomy (soil science and growing crops): The last online learning session at 2 p.m. April 23 is "Tasty Thursday." Join online via Zoom: z.umn.edu/growwith4-H .

Meet a NASA engineer: Two online conversations with the engineers who work on the Mars Rover program at NASA, both at 7 p.m., on April 28 and May 7. Advance registration is required. Visit z.umn.edu/4h-nasa for more information.

Pioneer TV

Pioneer Public TV has two sources of online learning available for students.

WORLD channel is broadcasting at-home learning programs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays for students in grade 6-12. The new broadcast programming is supplemented with additional resources from PBS LearningMedia, which is partnering with the WORLD Channel.

PBS LearningMedia is available on the home page of Pioneer Public TV at pioneer.org . It was developed based on feedback from educators, is aligned to curriculum standards in every state and contextualized for educational use. These resources include grab-and-go activities, lesson plans, interactive lessons and media that illustrate specific topics or themes and support materials across subjects.

Minnesota Historical Society

“Northern Lights” Interactive eBook from the Minnesota Historical Society features 20 chapters exploring the diverse stories of our state. The e-book will be available free of charge through the end of the school year.

Published since 1989, the most recent edition of “Northern Lights” is available in print and e-book versions and is used by 85 percent of Minnesota sixth-graders to meet state social studies requirements. Previously some districts only used the print textbook, but now all students, teachers and anyone interested in Minnesota history can explore the e-book for free.

It is available online at mnhs.org/nl or via iPad app (search “MNHS Education” in the app store), the e-book offers a variety of educational tools, including videos, audio narration, interactive maps, additional primary sources and more. After logging into the ebook (universal sign-in info is username: history, password: history), users can learn about everything from Native peoples to women’s suffrage to immigration in Minnesota.

Teachers can also request free access to the Annotated Teacher’s Edition of the textbook, containing additional content and activity suggestions. While “Northern Lights” was written for sixth-grade students and teachers, it can be used by anyone to learn more about state history. Parents will find a variety of stories, videos, activities and more to engage children of all ages at home.