RAFT Blog, News, and Events

RAFT’s AI Chatbot: A Smarter Way to Support Hands-On Learning

March 4, 2026

At RAFT, we’re always exploring new ways to help educators bring hands-on STEAM learning into the classroom. With support from the Cisco Foundation, RAFT launched an AI-enabled chatbot designed to help teachers confidently implement STEAM lessons and provide more personalized learning support for students. This tool acts like a digital teaching assistant, helping educators adapt…

A Legacy of Learning: The Guidry Foundation and RAFT’s Endowment Fund

January 26, 2026

For over three decades, RAFT has been fortunate to be supported by partners who believe deeply in the power of hands-on learning. Among them is The Mark & Carolyn Guidry Foundation, longtime champions of education, creativity, and opportunity for all students. Founded in 1994, the Guidry Foundation was established by Mark and Carolyn Guidry to…

Annual Fundraiser Recap: RAFT to the Future of STEAM Education

September 25, 2025

On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, RAFT hosted its annual fundraising event: RAFT to the Future. Over 130 supporters were present at RAFT, which was transformed into a beautiful space for the special event for the night. That evening, we honored the individuals and organizations that have made a profound impact on RAFT and the education…

STEAM Dream Summer Camp 2025: A Season of Innovation, Discovery, and Fun

August 19, 2025

This August marks the exciting wrap-up of RAFT’s 2025 STEAM Dream Summer Camp and DreamBox season-our biggest yet! Over the course of eight action-packed weeks, we delivered more than 180 hours of hands-on STEAM programming, engaging TK-8 students from across the Bay Area in engineering challenges, storytelling adventures, and STEAM experimentation. With programs running across…

RAFT Launches Controlled Flight Design Challenge

Feb 9, 2016 | Comments Off

Kit for educators helps students solve real-world flight problems using hands-on learning. San Jose, California, February 9, 2016 – Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) has launched a new tool for educators that puts students in the flight engineer’s seat. The Controlled Flight Design Challenge is…

RAFT Hires Director of Learning

Jan 26, 2016 | Comments Off

Resource Area for Teaching hires award winning educator Jason Pittman Jason Pittman is Resource Area for Teaching’s (RAFT) new Director of Learning. As a key member of the RAFT leadership team, the Director of Learning position embodies RAFT’s passion for hands-on learning and models…

Closing the Content Knowledge Gap

Jan 19, 2016 |

By Elisha Burns, RAFT Fellow Let me be one of the first to say there is an elephant in the room of education and it is called content knowledge. As a teacher that has spent a few years teaching I can honestly say that…

RAFT Hosts Public Review of the New California Science Curriculum on January 13th

Jan 11, 2016 | Comments Off

RAFT will host a public review of the new California Science Curriculum at their San Jose location co-sponsored by the California Science Teachers’ Association On January 13, 2016, Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) will hold a public review of the CA Science Curriculum at…

Over 200 Cisco Employees Volunteer at RAFT During the Holiday Season

Jan 4, 2016 | Comments Off

Cisco employees donated time and money to RAFT during the holiday season to help support hands-on learning. Bay Area tech company Cisco volunteered by the masses during this holiday season at Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT). Seven groups led by department heads participated in…

RAFT Unveils Four New Hands-On Idea Sheets

Dec 15, 2015 | Comments Off

Four new Idea Sheets were introduced by the RAFT team to help reinforce deeper levels of hands-on learning. December 15, 2015 – Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) added four new Ideas Sheets aligned to national curriculum standards to their library of over 700 free, downloadable Idea…