About Us: Curating STEM education for parents and students

An introduction to what we're doing with our nonprofit newsletter, The Toolkit.

The Toolkit is a weekly newsletter of STEM resources for parents and students: At-home activities, cool YouTube videos, and new products and platforms for learning tech. Please sign up or share! The newsletter is a 501(c)3 nonprofit effort. Consider a paid subscription ($5/month or $50/year) to support us, or make a donation.

More details on The Toolkit can be found at stemtoolkit.org.

What We Deliver:

Every week, The Toolkit will present a curated selection of STEM content, from science-y YouTubes to learning apps and education news. Each item comes with an explanation of what it is and why it matters: no faked experiments, lazy stories, or dolphins in Venice canals here.

We know different students need different material — we sort things out into age ranges: 5-7, 7-12, and 12-15. There is something for all audiences in each newsletter, with age-appropriate context.

The Toolkit’s Mission:

Our nonprofit was founded in 2004 to deliver STEM education to a wider audience. During COVID-19 quarantine, in-person classes and workshops are impossible. So we’re bringing our expertise to parents and students who are now learning (and teaching) from home, over the internet. With our newsletter, we’ll demystify STEM education online and recommend videos, activities, and apps in the realm of science and technology.

Parents face a tough challenge right now. There are plenty of online STEM resources, but it’s hard to know what’s most valuable, and for parents without science backgrounds these concepts might be difficult to explain. We offer a clear, curated guide to what’s worthwhile and the tools to understand the content at any level.

The Toolkit is a community — we want to share tips, best practices, and random interesting stuff. We’ll share all reader responses. Email us at toolkitnewsletter@gmail.com.

About Us:

The Toolkit is written by journalist Caroline Delbert, a writer for Popular Mechanics, Scientific American, and other technology and science publications. Back-up is provided by editor Kyle Chayka and Robotics & Beyond founder Paul Chayka, a materials science engineer and educator for over 15 years, as well as our nonprofit’s whole community.

Robotics & Beyond, the STEM nonprofit behind The Toolkit, was founded in 2004 in New Milford, Connecticut. We grew from an annual summer camp into a dedicated center for after-school programs, weekend sessions, and continuing education. We serve a diverse audience and connect a network of parents, mentors, teachers, and students.

Thanks for reading! More details on The Toolkit can be found at stemtoolkit.org. The newsletter is a 501(c)3 nonprofit effort. Consider a paid subscription ($5/month or $50/year) to support us, or make a donation.

More details on The Toolkit can be found at stemtoolkit.org. Contact: toolkitnewsletter@gmail.com.