RAFT Blog, News, and Events

RAFT STEAM Teachers of the Year 2022

May 31, 2022

Congratulations to our 2022 STEAM Teachers of the Year! RAFT’s STEAM Teacher of the Year Awards recognize outstanding pre-K-12 teachers in the Bay Area who incorporate effective hands-on learning and/or maker education into their curriculum. Each awardee demonstrates excellence in teaching in at least one of the following areas: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, or Math. RAFT…

Happy International Day of Education from RAFT!

January 24, 2022

Today the world celebrates International Day of Education! Not only do we recognize the contributions of teachers, the personal development of students, and the hard work of everyone in the education field, but we also take today to recognize the role of education for the world. Education can unlock every individual’s potential and pave the…

RAFT Makerspace Build comes to San Lucas Union School District

January 19, 2022

The rain of December took a brief hiatus to allow RAFT’s Education Team to bring the excitement of a makerspace build to San Lucas Union School District in southern Monterey County. With the support of all 75 students, they built new tool walls and shelving units to get their makerspace organized and even better than…

RAFT’s Winter STEAM Lab Uses STEAM Activities to Take Students to the Stars

January 15, 2022

We’ve said before that it’s a great idea to kick off the new year with some STEAM learning, and we’re so happy to say that the RAFT Education Team helped the students of Luther Burbank Elementary School in San Jose do just that. In the first week of January, the team held a week-long STEAM…

Light Up Your Holidays with a STEAM Kit!

Dec 1, 2022 | Comments Off

RAFT just launched its newest STEAM Project Kit, Winter Light-Up Ornaments. It’s the perfect activity for the entire family to get into the holiday spirit and enjoy hands-on STEAM learning. The kit uses a coin cell battery and conductive cloth tape to light up…

2022 RAFT Awards

Nov 25, 2022 | Comments Off

GreatNonprofits 2022 Top-Rated Award RAFT once again made it to GreatNonprofits‘ Top-Rated List. The Top-Rated Award is a people’s choice award where volunteers, donors, supporters,and community members share stories about their experiences with a nonprofit and rates the organization out of 5 stars. Maintaining…

AmazonSmile: Shop and Support!

Nov 17, 2022 | Comments Off

Help support RAFT by shopping on Amazon! AmazonSmile allows you to support your favorite charity every time you shop. You’ll find the exact selection of items, prices, and services with the added benefit that Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the…

Subscribe, Save, STEAM!

Nov 11, 2022 | Comments Off

Get regular access to affordable, sustainable, and quality STEAM kits and learning activities through RAFT’s STEAM Subscription Kits! This subscription service was launched in 2021 as a way for us to share our dedication to making STEAM learning more accessible and engaging. Individual Subscription…

RAFT – Found Engineering

Nov 3, 2022 | Comments Off

At RAFT we strongly believe that hands-on learning is crucial to a student’s development and learning. Students who are more physically engaged in the learning experience tend to have a deeper understanding with higher engagement and improved outcomes. Hands-on activities require materials that can…

Arista Funds RAFT Makerspace Build at Local Elementary School

Oct 20, 2022 | Comments Off

With its goal to provide educators with STEAM learning resources, Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT), a non-profit organization founded in 1994, organized a makerspace build for the Kathryn Hughes Elementary School in Santa Clara. RAFT believes that makerspaces are a great way to encourage…