RAFT Blog, News, and Events

Bringing Hands-On STEAM Learning to San Diego Educators

May 18, 2025

RAFT recently had the pleasure of participating in the San Diego STEAM Educators Conference at the University of San Diego from May 16-17. The event brought together hundreds of teachers from across the state committed to advancing STEAM education across Southern California. Nancy McIntyre, RAFT’s new Community Engagement Manager, represented our team at the conference,…

From Honoree to Advocate: A STEAM Award’s Ripple Effect

May 14, 2025

At RAFT, we believe in celebrating educators who bring STEAM to life through hands-on learning. Our STEAM Teachers and Administrators of the Year Awards honor those who go above and beyond-and sometimes, that recognition inspires something even bigger. Just ask Bryan Williams, a past STEAM Teacher of the Year award recipient who later nominated another…

DreamBox Impact Series: Milpitas Unified School District

April 1, 2025

Engaging EL and SPED Learners Through Hands-On STEAM For the past two summers, RAFT has partnered with Milpitas Unified School District to bring hands-on STEAM learning to the district’s Extended School Year (ESY) summer program. This past summer, 230 fourth- through sixth-grade Special Education (SPED) and English Learner (EL) students became environmental engineers-designing water filtration…

Bringing Stories to Life: RAFT’s Intersession Program at Northwood Elementary

March 18, 2025

This winter, Northwood Elementary students in Berryessa School District embarked on a creative journey through RAFT’s three-day Intersession program. Designed to spark imagination and hands-on learning, the program engaged 66 students in grades K-5 in the art of puppet-making, storytelling, and performance, culminating in a special showcase for families. Student-made marionette puppets displayed with crafting…

Impacting Children Worldwide: RAFT’s Trip to Kenya

Jan 16, 2018 |

RAFT employee, Sylvia lodge, recently made a trip to Kenya and was able to visit a school in a Maasai village. The school employed one teacher who worked with about 59 students ranging form three to twelve years of age. They were having classes…

RAFT Impacting Children Worldwide – The Syria Story

Jan 6, 2018 |

This past year, RAFT members Consuelo Montoya and Carol Muhn took RAFT kits to Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon for the more than 280,000 school-age refugee children not able to attend school. As Carol Muhn recounts, “We taught the teachers at Beyond Association’s Child…

Let’s Celebrate National Dice Day

Dec 4, 2017 |

Did you know that each year on December 4th in the United States people observe National Dice Day? Many games use dice as a way to add random challenges by generating numbers from a toss of the dice. The value of the toss is…

We’re Thankful for You!

Nov 18, 2017 |

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and this is an excellent time in the school year to take a moment and reflect on the teachers and students for whom you are grateful! Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us to stop and think about…

How to use Music to Teach Math

Nov 7, 2017 |

What do math and music have in common? Numbers tell us a lot about music! Math explains why notes sound higher than others, why instruments look the way they are, and why some sounds are more pleasing to the ear than others. Math and music are universal…

Favorite Basic Recipes for Preschool Science and Art – PLAYDough

Sep 16, 2017 |

By Betty Klem I’d like to share some of my favorite basic recipes for sensory activities that explore materials and the way they behave and react. All of these are tried and true. There are many newer recipes for potions and doughs. Playdough This…