SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Siemens Foundation and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, launched Siemens STEM Day ― a refreshed and expanded version of the beloved Siemens Science Day website that includes a new K-12 online STEM experience. In addition to more than 130 elementary and middle school activities, the Siemens STEM Day site now offers high school resources designed to support STEM curriculum and instruction with digital content. To celebrate the initiative's launch, Siemens STEM Day is also hosting The Possibility Grant Sweepstakes, which offers schools the chance to win up to $10,000 to go toward STEM education. 

Available at no cost, Siemens STEM Day materials emphasize the importance of STEM through standards-aligned, fun and engaging hands-on classroom activities and videos designed to support the development of students' ability to investigate, question and understand how the world works within STEM principles. Interactive student activities can be filtered by grade level, category or career path, and explore topics spanning healthcare, engineering, IT, science, math, technology, energy and manufacturing. Siemens STEM Day also offers a Teacher Support Center that provides educators 5-minute prep videos, live demonstrations of activities and downloadable one-sheets for best practice and how-to guides.

"For years, I've used the lessons and activities from the Siemens Science Day website to help build exciting digital STEM learning environments in my classroom," said Patti Grammens, Coding and Science Teacher at Forsyth County Schools' Lakeside Middle School in Georgia. "The engaging resources the Siemens Foundation and Discovery Education make available captivate my students' attention and inspire them. I look forward to integrating these new tools into my classroom instruction."

In addition to the formal launch of the new Siemens Science Day website, today marks the opening of the program's "Possibility Grant Sweepstakes," which awards one grand prize winning school $10,000, which could be used by school leaders to purchase STEM-related equipment, supplies or technology or to refurbish existing science labs. K-12 educators in the United States are eligible to enter their school once daily until April 28, 2017. 

"Igniting and sustaining today's STEM workforce and tomorrow's scientists and engineers is our mission and the Siemens STEM Days platform gets to the heart of that," said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. "With the extension of these standards-aligned, hands-on modules to educators at the high school level—in addition to the elementary and high school educators already using the platform—we couldn't be more excited!  This is about connecting students to science, technology, engineering and math and to great careers that have those disciplines at their core."

The mission of the Siemens STEM Day program is to provide classroom materials that will help students nationwide across all ages develop the knowledge, skills and self-confidence needed to succeed in STEM and in the workforce. The program emphasizes the importance of STEM through fun and engaging hands-on activities. And, coming this spring, Siemens STEM Day will host its first-ever National Day of STEM with the release of new video-based career profiles and additional high school content. 

To learn more about Siemens STEM Day and download the program's free resources, visit: http://siemensstemday.com. 

About the Siemens Foundation
The Siemens Foundation has invested more than $100 million in the United States to advance workforce development and education initiatives in science, technology, engineering and math.  The Siemens Foundation's mission is inspired by the culture of innovation, research and continuous learning that is the hallmark of Siemens' companies. Together, the programs at the Siemens Foundation are closing the opportunity gap for young people in the U.S. when it comes to STEM careers, and igniting and sustaining today's STEM workforce and tomorrow's scientists and engineers. For further information, visit http://www.siemens-foundation.org/  or follow @sfoundation.

About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education's services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ : DISCA , DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com. 

SOURCE Discovery Education

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