STEM Lessons

The CDC Museum Public Health Academy STEM Lessons aim to educate students about public health issues through the integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). STEM Lessons offer inquiry-based, hands-on activities that allow students to work either in teams or independently. STEM Lessons are designed to be used by different audiences including educators and students and are ideal for middle and high school students.

Each lesson’s activities use one of three models:

• Engineering Design Process
  Students will solve a public health problem by designing and building a solution.
• Scientific Method
  Students will conduct an experiment to evaluate a hypothesis.
• Public Health Approach
  Students will use epidemiologic principles to investigate and address health issues.

The CDC Museum offers the full lesson, along with three supplementary documents: a slide set for educators, an instruction sheet for students, and a data collection sheet for students. There are two different data collection sheets available. One is suitable for printing, while the other is formatted for easy editing using Microsoft Word or Google Docs for use in a digital environment. The slide sets are in the public domain and may be downloaded and customized as needed by the user for informational or educational purposes.

Educators: It is suggested that educators use the slide set to introduce the lesson and to guide the students through the activities. Students will need the student instruction sheet and the data collection sheet to complete the activities. Depending on the lesson, educators may decide to have students complete all or portions of the hands-on activities at home.

Students: Interested students may choose to complete lessons independently to learn more about public health, rather than for a school assignment. It is suggested that those students print or download the full lesson and data collection sheet.

Brief descriptions of all the STEM lessons