Engineering is Elementary (EiE) the award-winning STEM curriculum project based at the Museum of Science, Boston, has released two new units for the Engineering Everywhere (EE) curriculum.

Afterschool educators who want to offer STEM activities for middle schoolers in the coming school year have some fun new choices. This brings the total number of EE units available for afterschool and camp programs that serve youth in grades 6 through 8 to eight.

One of the new offerings is “Outbreak Alert: Engineering a Pandemic Response,” a biomedical engineering unit that engages youth in designing model anti-virals to stop a disease outbreak. "It sounds serious, but it's also really fun," says curriculum developer Michele DiIeso. "The activities call for an inflatable snow tube studded with Velcro that serves as a model cell; the anti-virals are little plastic cups you can pitch at the tube to see if they stick. In our pilot tests, the students were really creative about designing anti-virals that prevented the cups from sticking!"

The other new unit is called “It’s in the Bag: Engineering Bioinspired Gear.” This materials engineering unit explores bioinspiration (sustainable solutions to human challenges that draw on the patterns and strategies you find in nature) by engaging youth in designing a custom backpack or tote bag.