CREATE’s STEM Educator Workshops and Institutes provide STEM educators with engaging energy lessons, classroom-ready equipment, and a unique hands-on learning experience to take directly back to their students.
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The STEM Virtual Educator Institutes provide STEM educators with engaging energy lessons, classroom-ready equipment, and a unique hands-on learning experience to take directly back to their students. Funded by the CREATE Energy NSF ATE National Center, these institutes are designed to build educator confidence and content knowledge in solar energy, system performance, and energy careers.
During the virtual institute, participants explore a sequence of hands-on lessons focused on real-world energy technologies and tools. Lessons are aligned for classroom use and adaptable across middle school, high school, and introductory college-level STEM courses.
STEM educators from high school through college are invited to apply. Each selected participant will receive a mailed equipment kit valued at $200, provided at no cost and delivered prior to the start of the institute. This equipment allows participants to actively complete each lesson with guidance from expert facilitators during live, synchronous online sessions.
In addition to hands-on learning, participants will join a collaborative community of educators to share ideas, discuss classroom implementation, and reflect on lesson outcomes through structured discussions and optional Q&A sessions. The institute blends practical instruction, professional collaboration, and authentic energy applications to create a meaningful and transferable learning experience.
Virtual Institute Schedule:
You can find the application for the Virtual Institute here.
For additional information visit the Institute website.
The KidWind Project, an international leader in clean energy education, has launched its virtual workshops. The workshops are topic-specific and designed to help educators teach about energy. Through the support of the NSF CREATE National Energy (CREATE), the cost is only $50. If you are a middle, high school or community college instructor in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM), these workshops are for you!
These fully virtual workshops will explore marine & hydropower, battery, wind and solar technologies. These are hands-on workshops focusing on delivering enough content knowledge to get going, as well as a wide variety of practical activities for your classroom. No prior knowledge is needed to attend these workshops.
Topics & Dates
When: June 23-25, 2026
Where: Central Carolina Community College, Pittsboro, NC
The NC STEM Educator Energy Institute is a three-day event intended to provide high school and community college STEM faculty with curriculum materials and hands-on experiences that will allow them to incorporate energy education into their classrooms. Participants will learn photovoltaic basics and walk through several lessons from the CREATE catalog with our team of experienced educators. This workshop is perfect for those who want to teach electrical principles or already teach them, particularly in the high school CTE space, physical or environmental sciences, or technical two-year programs.
The Energy Institute Includes:
For additional information and the agenda, visit the Institute website.
To register you can find the application here.
When: July 7-9, 2026
Where: Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI
The STEM Solar Educator Institute is designed to provide STEM educators with engaging solar energy lessons, classroom-ready equipment, and a unique hands-on learning experience to take back to their students. Funded by the CREATE Energy NSF ATE National Center, these institutes support educators in building confidence and content knowledge in solar technologies, system performance, and energy careers.
During the institute, participants engage in a sequence of hands-on, industry-aligned solar lessons that reflect real-world photovoltaic (PV) systems and practices. Content includes introductory PV system concepts, electrical fundamentals such as volts and amps, safety and commissioning procedures, and system performance analysis. Educators work directly with solar equipment to assemble, test, and commission PV systems while gaining experience with tools used by industry professionals.
In addition to hands-on learning, participants will join a collaborative community of educators to share ideas, discuss classroom implementation, and reflect on lesson outcomes through structured discussions and Q&A sessions. The Institute blends practical instruction, professional collaboration, and authentic energy applications to create a meaningful and transferable learning experience.
STEM educators teaching at the high school and college levels are encouraged to apply.
The Solar Institute Includes:
For additional information and the agenda, visit the Institute website.
To register you can find the application here.
When: July 21-23, 2026
Where: Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI
The STEM Solar + Storage Institute is designed to provide STEM educators with engaging lessons focused on solar energy and energy storage, classroom-ready equipment, and a unique hands-on learning experience to take back to their students. Funded by the CREATE Energy NSF ATE National Center, this institute supports educators in building confidence and content knowledge in renewable energy systems, grid resilience, and energy careers.
In this Institute you will learn the fundamentals of series and parallel connections for batteries, build a lithium-ion battery with a BMS, understand the function of the charge controller in a solar plus storage system, connect the components of an AC off grid stand-alone system, and use computerized battery analyzers to study lithium-ion battery discharge curves.
All lessons are designed for classroom implementation and can be adapted for high school and introductory college-level STEM courses.
Additional content highlights careers and pathways in the energy and energy storage industries, helping educators connect technical concepts to real-world workforce opportunities.
In addition to hands-on learning, participants will join a collaborative community of educators to share ideas, discuss classroom implementation, and reflect on lesson outcomes through structured discussions and optional Q&A sessions. The Institute blends practical instruction, professional collaboration, and authentic energy applications to create a meaningful and transferable learning experience.
STEM educators teaching at the high school and college levels are encouraged to apply.
The Solar + Storage Institute Includes:
For additional information and the agenda, visit the Institute website.
To register you can find the application here.
