STEM Resources in Oklahoma

Organizations across Oklahoma provide opportunities for K-12 students to participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities. OneNet encourages our subscribers to involve their students in these initiatives to continue promoting STEM education in our state. This page is dedicated to helping connect our subscribers to local resources that provide engaging opportunities for today’s students and tomorrow’s professionals. Learn more about these resources and how your organization can involve its students. You can also find organizations that offer STEM activities for families to do at home here!

State Regents Summer Academies

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education offers FREE Summer Academies! Spend time at an Oklahoma college or university during the summer and discover the fascinating worlds of robotics, architecture, construction, engineering, environmental conservation, and much more! Students entering 8th-12th grade can apply.

Find more information on the OKCollegeStart website.

University of Oklahoma K-20 Center

The University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center hosts a tech lab, where teachers can experiment with new classroom technologies and learn ways to incorporate technology into teaching strategies. They also connect teachers with grant resources to fund classroom technology projects.

OneNet has had the opportunity to partner with the K20 Center to distribute its digital game-based learning tools. The center’s learning games teach students important STEM concepts from inferential logic and hypothesis testing to calculus concepts. The learning games are available to all Oklahoma schools at no cost through the partnership with OneNet. For more information and registration, visit https://k20center.ou.edu/gbl/.

Oklahoma Women in Technology STEM Day Retreat

Oklahoma Women in Technology hosts a free, half-day event in Oklahoma City and Tulsa to educate career-exploring women (grades 9-12+) in Oklahoma about the breadth of career opportunities in STEM and the technology field. The event features engaging speakers, interactive sessions, raffles, prizes and much more. Students will be introduced to the array of technical training programs and opportunities available in the IT workforce. For over 8 years, these retreats have received high praise from over 1,000 students, teachers and volunteers across Oklahoma, who have all attended free of charge thanks to our generous sponsors. Per post-retreat surveys, these retreats are directly impacting if, when and how attendees pursue a future in STEM.

Please reach out to info@okwomenintech.org for more information.

Raspberry Shake

Oklahoma is one of the most seismically active regions in the nation and Raspberry Shake has made its mark with the help of the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) by distributing vertical motion earthquake monitors to schools and libraries across Oklahoma. The monitoring device can fit in the palm of your hand and is powerful enough to detect an earthquake that occurs in the Middle East, all the way around to the other side of the Earth, from the stations set up in Oklahoma.

OGS leverages Raspberry Shake devices to expand seismology in Oklahoma through the Bridging Local Outreach and Seismic Signal Monitoring (BLOSSM) program. The BLOSSM program is placing Raspberry Shake devices in K-16 educational institutions, and public learning spaces such as museums and libraries. BLOSSM will also support participating institutions by providing mini-workshops and time with seismic experts for teachers using the devices in their classrooms.

If you are interested in being part of the BLOSSM program, visit http://bit.ly/BLOSSM to complete an interest form. Educators can also visit https://raspberryshake.org/ and explore the data collected across the state to help students gain a better understanding of plate tectonics, earthquakes, rocks and minerals in our state and around the globe.

Oral Roberts University Global Learning Center

Oral Roberts University has emerged as a leader in implementing next-generation technology to engage students around the globe. ORU deployed a Global Learning Center that harnesses virtual and augmented reality technologies to offer students an unmatched learning experience, available to students around the world through a connection as simple as a smartphone. The Global Learning Center hopes to make its resources virtually available across the state by using cloud-based videoconferencing technology. For more information visit http://www.oru.edu/glc/ or contact the center at InfoGLC@oru.edu.

The UCO Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching and Research Center

In the fall of 2018, the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) unveiled a new 57,000-square-foot technology center aimed at bringing together students of all STEM backgrounds under one roof. The center hopes to bring problem solvers together in a quality learning space that houses state-of-the-art research labs, several classrooms, and faculty office space and inspires collaboration.

OneNet’s services help to power UCO’s research facility, making world-class research opportunities available to Oklahoma students. For more information on the facility and how students can get involved, visit https://www.uco.edu/cms/.

Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum Family STEM Night

The Inasmuch Uncover-Discover Lab integrates STEM concepts with history using touch-screen tables in a highly interactive environment that stimulates learning and connects the past with the future. The Uncover-Discover STEM Lab teaches the lessons learned from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, including how those lessons have shaped the way federal buildings are now constructed. Groups of 15 or more can participate in a 45-minute lesson geared toward middle-school and high-school students.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum hosts a series of family STEM nights for students and their parents to engage in hands-on learning activities as a family. The STEM nights take place throughout the year and offer structural engineering activities and the latest forensic analysis techniques.

For more in-depth information on how careers in STEM were critical in the rescue, recovery, investigation and justice and healing in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, middle school students can participate in a week-long STEM camp. Students engage with experts in structural engineering, forensics and disaster response, interact with touch-screen tables, and participate in hands-on activities using critical thinking skills.

For information on these events, visit MemorialMuseum.com

Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance

The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) is an organization focused on building broad, deep and innovative pathways for all students to pursue their STEM interests. The organization is Tulsa-based and hosts a series of events ranging from engineering challenges modeled after The Hunger Games to events where students build remote-controlled underwater robots.

The Tulsa-based organization also offers a variety of summer camps covering a variety of STEM topics and concepts. Their website also features various online STEM games and provides scholarship links. For more information visit https://tulsastem.org/.

The Sam Noble Museum

The Sam Noble Museum at the University of Oklahoma hosts a wide variety of camps and programs that provide opportunities for children of all ages to learn about natural science. The museum offers everything from afternoon camps for smaller children to their Paleo Expedition, a 15-day long fossil discovery expedition for high schoolers. A number of these programs, including the Paleo Expedition and the Oklahoma Science Adventure, are free.

The museum’s affiliation with a major research university provides them with the resources to put on highly engaging and educational programs. Many of these programs allow participants to spend time outdoors and involve lots of exciting hands-on activities. Learn more about the programs offered by Sam Noble Museum at: https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/education-2/

The National Inventors Hall of Fame

The National Inventors Hall of Fame hosts a number of different STEM-oriented programs across the nation, including many throughout Oklahoma. Programs such as Invention Playground, Camp Invention, STEM Maker Lab and others provide valuable opportunities for everyone from preschoolers to college students to gain valuable experience and knowledge in a variety of STEM-related areas. With a focus on invention, these camps encourage innovation by challenging campers to engage with problems creatively and foster strong critical thinking skills. Learn more about programs offered by the National Inventors Hall of Fame at: https://www.invent.org/programs

The Science Museum Oklahoma

The Science Museum Oklahoma is a fantastic resource for STEM-related activities and camps year-round. Throughout the summer, preschoolers through sixth graders have the opportunity to engage with many aspects of science. The camps encourage plenty of hands-on activities and make learning about science fun and accessible for all ages.

The Science Museum also offers a number of other programs throughout the year including Tinkerfest and Teen Apprenticeships which allow for even more opportunities for kids of all ages to engage with science. Find out more information about the programs offered by the Science Museum Oklahoma at: https://www.sciencemuseumok.org/programs

Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma

The Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma are challenging young girls to push their boundaries, test their limits and explore their interests in STEM. From coding to robotics, the organization offers a variety of STEM activities for girls of all ages in Oklahoma. Girls can also earn badges and patches to recognize their STEM accomplishments.

On a national level, Girl Scouts offers various scholarships and STEM grants for those wanting to pursue a career in a STEM-related field. For more information about the Girls Scouts and their involvement in STEM, visit http://www.gswestok.org/stem.

The George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center (Sutton Center)

The Sutton Center, located near Bartlesville, Oklahoma, is a leader in avian research and conservation. The center’s conservation solutions include ecological field research, the reintroduction and maintenance of Southern Bald Eagles, successful captive breeding of endangered species and bird surveys.

The center offers an online Eagle Cam, a live video stream of a bald eagle nest, located in the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge near Via, Oklahoma. The Eagle Cam serves as an educational initiative for the center, providing live nest updates to the public at no cost. OneNet helps advance the Sutton Center’s educational initiatives by hosting the Eagle Cam’s live-stream server. To learn more about the Sutton Center’s conservation efforts and to access the Eagle Cam, visit, https://www.suttoncenter.org/live-bald-eagle-nest-camera/.