Our Story
Ideas for accessible STEM outreach
Expanding Climate Curriculum Through Santa Clara County Schools
IRISTEM is working with the Santa Clara County Office of Education to introduce student-friendly climate and STEM materials to more local educators.
Turning Climate Policy Research Into an Interactive Student Game
IRISTEM transformed research about California climate policy into an activity students can actively explore.
Exploring Youth Climate-Health Education With Harvard C-CHANGE
IRISTEM connected with Harvard C-CHANGE to explore how climate and health research could become accessible youth education.
Translating Penn Flood Research for Younger Learners
Penn Climate connected IRISTEM with research examining flooding in Philadelphia after Hurricane Ida.
Developing K–12 Disaster Preparedness Curriculum With Columbia
IRISTEM began working with Columbia climate-education leaders to explore student-ready disaster-preparedness resources.
Bringing Disaster Resilience Research Into the Classroom
IRISTEM partnered with Northeastern’s Global Resilience Institute to translate disaster-resilience research for younger learners.
Translating Earthquake Research With the UC Disaster Resilience Network
A conversation about earthquake modeling developed into an IRISTEM curriculum project based on university research.
Play: Climate Superfund Matching Game
Match ten questions and answers to explore California's 2025 Climate Superfund proposals, then continue with a guided policy debrief.
Why Research Translation Matters
How accessible explanations help scientific work reach students and communities beyond the lab.
Designing for Younger Learners
Strong youth resources combine accuracy, clear language, useful visuals, and active learning.
From Explanation to Activity
Hands-on experiences give students a concrete way to explore abstract scientific ideas.
The Value of a Student Perspective
Student creators can identify where advanced concepts need more context and clearer entry points.
Showing Educational Reach
Participation data, feedback, and short summaries can make outreach outcomes easier to understand.
Students as Science Communicators
Research translation builds communication skills while helping younger learners encounter meaningful STEM.
Play: How to Pay for Climate Costs
An interactive budget simulation — allocate limited tokens across seven infrastructure sectors, then see if your city survives three climate disasters.
