Updated August 2015
2015-2016 STEM Awareness Weeks & Activities
August
September
October
October
National Financial Planning Month
Activity Ideas
- Have a financial planner meet with the students to discuss what they do
- Take a tour of a bank and meet with the various staff members
- Have a representative from a bank work through a financial literacy course with your students
- Have a college/university representative talk to your students about financial aid
- Work with students to create a mock budget during a workshop
October
National Physical Therapy Month
Activity Ideas
- Tour a physical therapy clinic
- Have a physical therapist talk to your students about what they do
- Tour a physical therapy assistant program
October
Energy Awareness Month
Activity Ideas
- Tour the local power facility
- Research different methods of energy generation
- Construct simple solar powered radios or other devices
- Watch the movie Race the Sun
October 6-12
National Physician Assistant Week
Activity Ideas
- Invite a Physician’s Assistant to speak to your students
- Tour a college/university physician assistant program
- Invite a current physician assistant student to talk to your students
October 19-23, 2015
National Nuclear Science Week
Activity Ideas
October 18-24, 2015
National Chemistry Week
Activity Ideas
- Tour a college/university campus chemistry department
- Engage a local pharmacist to come and speak to the students (pharmacy and chemistry are connected)
Last Full week of October
National Respiratory Care Week
Activity Ideas
- Invite a respiratory therapist to talk to your students
- Invite an asthma doctor to talk to your students
- Initiate a coach to 5k program with your students to improve their respiratory systems
Construction Career Days (South Florida-Davie)
October 20-21, 2015
Activity Ideas
- Attend Construction Career Days
- Contact local Department of Transportation office about speaking to students
November
First Week of November
National Radiologic Technology Week
Activity Ideas
- Have a radiologist or radiological technician come to speak to the students
- Tour a radiology department or MRI facility
Nov 9-15, 2015
Nurse Practitioner’s Week
Activity Ideas
- Tour a nursing program at a state college or university
- Invite a current nursing student to speak to students about program and things they should do to prepare in high school
- Have a nurse come and speak to the students about their job and the different types of nursing positions there are
Nov 15-21
Geography Awareness Week
Activity Ideas
- Have a GIS professional, cartographer, or surveyor come and talk to the students
- Participate in a geocaching activity ( need a GPS or GPSapplication on a phone
- Participate in GIS Day
Nov 18
GIS Day
Activity Ideas
- Have a GIS professional talk to the students
- Have a land buyer/developer or someone from the local county government talk to the students about their usage of GIS mapping
December
December
National Write a Business Plan Month
Activity Ideas
- Have a representative from the Chamber of Commerce or Economic Development Council talk to the student about starting their own business
- Have a local small business owner talk to the students about how and why they started their own business
- Have students develop mock businesses and pitch the ideas to each other
- Have students develop a fundraiser for HSHT and then execute it
Dec 7-13, 2015
Computer Science Awareness Week
Activity Ideas
- Invite a computer programmer/software programmer/web developer to speak to the students
- Invite an IT Director to speak to the students
- Have students construct webpages
- Participate in an Hour of Code activity
January
January 24-30, 2016
National Nurse Anesthetists Week
Activity Ideas
- Meet with current nurse anesthetist students to learn what their schooling is actually like, and what courses they took in high school to prepare them.
- Meet with current nurse anesthetist about their jobs and what the day-to-day is like
- Visit a nurse anesthetist program to learn about entry requirements, tuition and course load
- Have students research the nurse anesthetist field: include average pay, hiring companies, job outlook, local hiring companies
January 28-29, 2016
Construction Careers Day (Central Florida-Orlando)
Activity Ideas
- Attend Construction Career Days
- Contact local Department of Transportation office about speaking to students
February
February 22-28
Engineering Week
Activity Ideas
- Visit an engineering program at a university (many offer activities during engineering week)
- Schedule an engineer to come and talk to your students about their job
- Have students construct a trebuchet and compete against each other (
- Visit a build site to take a tour with the project engineer
- Have students build bridges and compete against each other for weight held
March
National Social Workers Month
Activity Ideas
- Have a social worker speak to the students about their job
- Visit a social work program at a college or university
- Have a social work student come and speak to your students about their college experience
- Invite VR to come present
National Athletic Trainers Month
Activity Ideas
- Have an athletic trainer come and speak to the students about their job
- Visit an athletic trainer facility
- Have students perform assessments on each other that an athletic trainer would utilize
- Host a field day for your students to participate in
First Week of MarchDental Hygienist Week
Activity Ideas
- Take students on a tour of a dental hygienist program at a vocational school or technical college
March 6-12, 2016
Teen Tech Week
Activity Ideas
- Visit public or university library and meet with a librarian on the resources offered at the library for doing research
- Have students complete a short research assignment on a HSHT relevant topic such as career of their choice or college/university of their choice
March 15
National Agriculture Day
Activity Ideas
- Visit a local farm or farmers market
- Have students report on the various agricultural products that are grown in Florida
- Build a garden or work in a community garden
April
April
National Occupational Therapy Month
Activity Ideas
- Visit a physical therapy clinic or hospital facility that utilizes occupational therapists
- Have an occupational therapist as a speaker
- Tour an occupational therapy program at a local college or university
April 5-7, 2016
Construction Careers Day (North Florida-Jacksonville)
Activity Ideas
- Attend Construction Career Days
- Contact local Department of Transportation office about speaking to students
First Week of April
Robotics Week
Activity Ideas
- Visit FLATE
- Have students construct a simple robot
- Tour a manufacturer facility that utilizes robotics
April 10-16, 2016
National Architecture Week
Activity Ideas
- Have an architect as a speaker
- Tour local, notable buildings in your area and learn about their style of architecture and their architect.
- Tour a new construction site with the lead architect
- Visit an architecture firm
- Have students construct mini building renderings they designed or are famous
April 19, 2016
National Library Workers Day
Activity Ideas
- Visit public or university library and meet with a librarian on the resources offered at the library for doing research
- Have students complete a short research assignment on a HSHT relevant topic such as career of their choice or college/university of their choice
- Have a librarian as a speaker
April 17-23, 2016
Occupational Health Nurses Week
Activity Ideas
- Have an occupational health nurse come and speak to the students
- Tour a county health department and meet with the director
- Have students research work related injuries or illnesses that could occur at in their desired career
Last Week of April
Medical Laboratory Professionals Week
Activity Ideas
- Visit a medical laboratory or blood donation center
- Have a Clinical Laboratory Technologist or Technician come speak to the students
- Visit a college/university/vocational program that offers the requisite degree
- Visit County Health Department to learn about medical testing
May
First week of May
National Correctional Officers Week
Activity Ideas
- Invite the warden or head correctional officer to come and speak to the students
- Invite a police officer to come and speak to tour a sheriff’s office or police department
May 6-12, 2016
National Nurses Week
Activity Ideas
- Tour a nursing program at a state college or university
- Invite a current nursing student to speak to students about program and things they should do to prepare in high school
- Have a nurse come and speak to the students about their job and the different types of nursing positions there are
May 8-14, 2016
National Hospital Week
Activity Ideas
- Tour a local hospital
- Workshop on variety of careers available at hospitals
- Visit healthcare administration program at a college or university
3rd Week of May
National Emergency Medical Services Week
Activity Ideas
- Invite an EMT or paramedic to speak and tour their truck
- Have students take a CPR class
- Tour a EMT program at a vocational or state college
- Have students construct a HSHT first aid kit
May 16, 2016
Accountants Day
Activity Ideas
- Have students create a mock HSHT budget for the upcoming year or create a budget for an end of year trip
- Invite an accountant to speak to students
- Contact local VITA office about having students assisting people with tax returns (
- Invite county or city budget/finance director to speak on their yearly budget and the creation process
June
June 5-11, 2016
National Business Etiquette Week
Activity Ideas
- Invite an HR Manager to talk to students about appropriate workplace behavior
- Invite a clothing retail manager to talk to students on work appropriate attire
- Mock interviews
- Writing appropriate emails and answering phones
June 13-17, 2016
National Auto Service Professionals Week
Activity Ideas
- Visit a mechanic to have them provide a tour of their facility
- Visit a large car dealership service department
- Tour a college/vocational school’s mechanic program
- Have a professional teach students how to change oil on their vehicles
- Invite an insurance professional to talk to students about care insurance and costs of owning a vehicle
June 9-16, 2016
National Nursing Assistants Week
Activity Ideas
- Invite a CNA to talk to students about their job
- Tour an assisted living facility/nursing home to see CNAs in a work setting
- Tour a state college/technical school’s CNA program
July
July
National Culinary Arts Month
Activity Ideas
- Tour a restaurant kitchen with the head chef
- Host a pancake fundraiser or other food related fundraiser where the students have the opportunity to cook
- Have students bake something for their teachers at school or parents
- Tour a college program that teaches cooking
3rd week in July
National Zoo-Keepers Week
Activity Ideas
- Tour a zoo and speak with a zoo keeper about their job and educational requirements
- Invite a veterinarian to come and speak with the students
- Volunteer at a humane society or animal shelter