PAST Foundation

Happy World Teachers’ Day! 🍎🔬

Today, we’re celebrating the educators who make curiosity contagious, turn questions into discoveries, and create opportunities for students to see themselves as problem-solvers, innovators, and future STEM leaders.

At PAST Foundation, we believe great STEM education is about more than learning a concept. It’s about building, questioning, experimenting, creating, and connecting learning to the world around us.

And none of that happens without teachers. Today and every day, we celebrate you.

What if your students had more ownership of their learning—not just more choices?

Join PAST Foundation for From Voice to Ownership, a free, interactive 1-hour webinar designed to help educators turn student agency into something they use in their classrooms.

Bring a current or upcoming lesson and use our Lesson Lifting tool to identify practical ways to increase:

→ Student voice
→ Choice and decision-making
→ Reflection
→ Ownership of learning

You’ll explore real classroom examples, collaborate with other educators, and leave with a strengthened lesson and practical next steps you can use right away. Can’t make one date? We’re offering two opportunities to join:

📅 Tuesday, October 13 | 4 PM EST
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/2uNDcohaRFG4HRKdnka87g

📅 Tuesday, October 20 | 7 PM EST
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_x9an2FbSSeJKsmXSWtx5A

Bring a lesson and leave with a plan to give students more ownership.

What if every child could become a confident reader by the end of first grade? 📚

In this episode of Learning Unboxed, Jessica Reid Sliwerski, co-founder of , explores how early intervention, personalized tutoring, and the science of reading can help close literacy gaps and set students up for success.

🎧Tune in to learn how we can give every child a stronger start as a reader! Listen at pastfoundation.org/learning-unboxed

We’re excited to announce that Dr. Annalies Corbin, our Founder & CEO, will speak at TEDxColumbus 2026!

💡 For more than two decades, Annalies has worked at the intersection of education, research, industry, and community, challenging traditional approaches to learning and creating new ways to connect education to real-world opportunity.

On November 20, she’ll take the TEDxColumbus stage as part of Make Room, joining a community of speakers whose ideas and experiences are helping shape what comes next.

🎟️ Get your tickets: https://tedxcolumbus.com/

The PAST Foundation, the Central OH STEM Hub for the Ohio STEM Learning Network () , hosted educators and administrators (this past week) for an OSLN Statewide Design Challenge Kickoff Event. Participants at the event learned about this year's design challenge, engaged in design thinking activities by working through the Design Cycle with a mini-design challenge, and received information from industry experts and resources.

For more information about the OSLN Statewide Design Challenge visit: https://osln.org/how-we-help/classroom-opportunities/statewide-design-challenge/

What happens when schools put student agency at the center of learning?

In this episode of Learning Unboxed, Jason Blair, founder of Agents of Change, explores how student voice, ownership, and authentic audiences can build confidence and help learners thrive.

🎧 Tune in to discover how listening to students and embracing experimentation can transform learning. Listen at pastfoundation.org/learning-unboxed

PILs open the possibilities of the classroom. 🔬

As you plan for the school year, bring hands-on, real-world STEM learning to your students with PAST Foundation’s **Portable Innovation Labs (PILs)**.

Available at **no cost to Ohio educators**, PILs provide ready-to-use tools and experiences that spark curiosity, build STEM identity, and connect classroom learning to the real world.With labs spanning **PreK–12 and a variety of subjects**, there’s an experience for every classroom.

Powered by PAST and made possible through our partnership with Battelle, PILs give educators the opportunity to bring learning to life—without the added cost.

📚 Planning your school year? Explore the labs and reserve one for your classroom.

🔗 https://www.pastfoundation.org/portable-innovation-labs

What does it take to help students turn learning into real career opportunities? 🚀

In this episode of Learning Unboxed, Chaz Van De Motter of explores how mentorship, community, financial literacy, and responsible AI use can help young people build career confidence and take ownership of their futures.

🎧 Listen to the full episode and discover how we can better prepare students for what’s next! pastfoundation.org/learning-unboxed