Two New Learning Labs Launch

Two powerhouse websites, both called Learning Lab, recently launched to support pre-K-12 education with digital online resources.

• One Learning Lab provides digital resources for the Smithsonian Museums.
• The other Learning Lab is associated with the US Green Building Center and Center for Green Schools.
• Smithsonian’s Learning Lab is free, and USGBC’s Learning Lab is free until August 2016 and then by subscription.
• Add both these resources to your teaching toolkits.
• Check back as the resources grow.

Here’s my first exploration of both these new Learning Labs:

Smithsonian’s Learning Lab -  a Virtual Fieldtrip to Discover Create and Share

I view the video introduction, check out resources, and read threads related to Pandas, Hot Air Balloons and Robots.

• How to link these and other reading resources to my K-5 outdoor lessons?
• How can I share these resources with students, parents and teachers?
• How about using the Smithsonian's collections of museum objects?

I click to Exploring Essential Questions With A Group of Objects, and come across a beautiful collection of tools and innovation.

I bookmark this page for a teen after-school enrichment group that I will be working with on The Food Project. From a 5-minute browse on the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab, I now know where to come back for future links to millions of Smithsonian resources, and I can plan a virtual fieldtrip!

“Not everyone can come to the Smithsonian, but they can visit the Learning Lab to inspire and design their own digital learning experiences,” said Stephanie Norby, Director of the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access.

US Green Building Center’s Learning Lab - Education for Sustainability (EfS)

After registering with USGBC’s Learning Lab, I easily access their resources.

I download a series of three lessons and films on soil science from Nature Works Everywhere designed for grades 6-8. This I can also use with my after-school enrichment groups including The Food Project. While on the Nature Works Everywhere site, I check out their resources and lesson plans on bees and pollination to add to my collection for my after-school and in-school programs!

I bookmark a module on the theme of “water” from other partners: the Sustainable Intelligence curriculum designed by EcoRise Youth Innovations and Representaciones e Inteligencia Sustentable. The curriculum is mapped to current standards, and available in Spanish and English. I download the water lesson plans include songs, images and sounds of rain and a waterfall, and add these to resources for my work with a Montessori school.

I will check back often as these resources from the Smithsonian and USGBC and their Learning Lab partners grow.

Learning Lab Resources

Smithsonian’s Learning Lab - https://learninglab.si.edu/

USGBC, US Green Building Center’s Learning Lab - https://learninglab.usgbc.org/

Bookmark both for your green STEM and 'education for sustainability' (EfS) toolkits!

Add a comment below on how you are using these resources.