STEM Cases

Working as a CDC researcher, students investigate an outbreak of multi-drug resistant bacterial infections and determine how evolution was involved by tracing the source and cause of the outbreak.

As a national park ranger, students must restore the ecosystem of a park back to normal. They interact with populations of many organisms including wolves, deer and bees. Students learn the importance of food chains and webs, and how human factors can impact the health of an environment.

In the role of a physician assistant, students help a young man, named Anthony, who has Type II diabetes and high blood pressure. Students must make a diagnosis and then must apply the principles of filtration and homeostasis to help Anthony.

As a veterinary technician, students learn about enzymes to help a dog that has been eating normally but is losing a lot of weight.

As a geneticist in an animal hospital, students learn about genetic changes in meiosis to determine the reason why a male cat can have calico fur coloring.

As a marine biologist students learn about photosynthesis to help scientists in Australia determine why the coral in the Great Barrier Reef is bleaching.

As a medical toxicologist, students learn about cell respiration to save the life of a CIA agent that has been poisoned.

An infant on a farm has blue baby syndrome. As an EPA environmental engineer, students must find the cause of the baby's illness. Using environment data, students learn the importance of the nitrogen cycle and how human factors can impact nature.

As a veterinarian, students help a young calf, named Clark, who is having seizures. To determine the cause, the students fly into Clark's brain to learn about osmosis and apply their learning to save Clark.

As a physician assistant, students must learn about diffusion to save the life of a person poisoned by chlorine gas that was released into a small town following a train crash.

As a pediatrician, students learn about genes and protein synthesis to try to help a baby girl named Lucy who has an immunodeficiency disease.

The Secret Service has arrested suspects accused of counterfeiting coins from the year 1915 valued at $50,000 each. The students act as a forensic scientist to investigate the crime scene and evidence. Students learn about the properties of matter to recreate the methods used to make the coins as evidence for the trial.

The Secret Service has arrested suspects accused of counterfeiting coins from 1915 valued at $50,000 each. The students act as a forensic scientist to investigate the crime scene and examine the evidence. Students learn about electrons and chemical reactions to recreate the methods used to make the coins and prepare evidence for the court case.

The Secret Service recently arrested suspects accused of counterfeiting coins from 1915 valued at $50,000 each. The students act as a forensic scientist to investigate the crime scene and the evidence. Students learn about chemical and physical changes to recreate the methods used to make the coins as evidence for the trial.

As an agricultural scientist, students help a strawberry farmer who is having problems with low fruit production. Students learn about the factors involved in fruit production including plant nutrients, pollination and bees, and the interaction with the environment.

Mussel farmers in the Arctic Ocean have reported problems with their mussels. They have noticed that the mussel shells have eroded and become brittle. Students take on the role of a marine chemist to analyze the changes to ocean carbon chemistry and equilibrium to determine the cause of the mussel shell erosion.

As a bee scientist, students help a honey farm that has low honey production due to wasps. Students learn about bees, heredity and traits to determine which traits will help the bees defend their hives against the wasps. They then pick a new queen bee to pass on these traits to the bee colony.

A farmer in Africa is having problems with elephants eating her corn and cotton crops. As a wildlife biologist, students learn about animal group behavior and relationships of elephants and humans with bees. Students collect data from the farm and elephants to hypothesize and test solutions that will protect the crops without hurting the elephants.

There has been an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in a small town. This disease is caused by legionella bacteria that proliferate in contaminated water supplies. Students take on the role of an environmental chemist to investigate the source of legionella and use stoichiometry to decontaminate the water supply and remediate the disease outbreak.

There has been an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in a small town. This disease is caused by legionella bacteria that proliferate in contaminated water supplies. Students take on the role of a civil engineer to investigate how the water treatment plant has failed to get rid of all the contaminants in the water and design a new method.

Paanee, a city in Northeast India, has been experiencing higher rates of flooding than normal. This surge in flooding has been caused by an increase in the hydrologic cycle’s activity. Students take on the role of a hydrologist to investigate why the hydrologic cycle’s rate has increased and what can be done to manage flooding and reduce flooding.

A respiratory physiologist is concerned about the number of asthma attacks in children within her community. On certain days, the number is higher than the respiratory physiologist might expect. She thinks something in the environment is causing more rescue inhaler use on those days. As an air quality engineer, students will work collaboratively with a respiratory physiologist to learn how some air pollutants are released directly from sources while others are formed through chemical reactions. Students will develop a system model to test design solutions to recommend a plan to help decrease air pollution in a community with a record number of asthma cases in children.

As an acoustic engineer, students will work with an urban planner to learn how noise pollution impacts a community. Students will develop a system model to test design solutions. Wave properties of sound and how sound interacts with different surfaces will be explored and used as evidence to reduce noise pollution.

Lake City's latest heat wave has more people in the hospital than ever before. Juan, a local student admitted to the hospital, lives in one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city. Students are hired as the city's Chief Heat Officer to investigate and solve the problem. As the Chief Heat Officer, students look at land uses, surface air temperatures, and building materials across Lake City. Students will develop a system model to test several design solutions and give the mayor a proposal to beat the heat.

The Bay Area of California experiences frequent earthquakes. Earthquakes are unpredictable and cause enormous damage that leads to casualties. Students take on the role of an earth scientist to investigate the properties of seismic waves to develop an early warning system that warns citizens of an incoming earthquake and reduces casualties.

Thawing permafrost threatens the stability of critical infrastructure in the Arctic community of Frostville, Alaska. Students take on the role of a civil engineer to design heat transfer solutions to protect permafrost in a warming climate.

An important fish species, the American Shad, has disappeared from the James River in Virginia. Students take on the role of a junior River Watch member to investigate the shad population’s decline. They collect and analyze data about biotic and abiotic factors related to water quality and fish survival. Then students use this data to construct a model of cause-and-effect relationships in the James River watershed and design a solution to bring back this iconic fish.

Concussion rates in youth impact sports are high despite the use of helmets. In this STEM case, students act as materials scientists to learn about the physics behind concussions and helmet function. Students will use their understanding of Newton’s First and Second Laws of Motion to investigate helmet padding material to determine which material is best at reducing force during an impact.

People are getting sick after swimming in the Dogwood River. The student acts as a microbiologist to monitor bacteria populations, construct a model of how pollution enters the river, and design a sustainable solution to minimize human impacts on the Dogwood River watershed.

An important fish species, the American Shad, has disappeared from the James River in Virginia. Students take on the role of a junior River Watch member to investigate the shad population’s decline. They collect and analyze data about biotic and abiotic factors related to water quality and fish survival. Then students use this data to construct a model of cause-and-effect relationships in the James River watershed and design a solution to bring back this iconic fish.

Paanee, a city in Northeast India, has been experiencing higher rates of flooding than normal. This surge in flooding has been caused by an increase in the hydrologic cycle’s activity. Students take on the role of a hydrologist to investigate why the hydrologic cycle’s rate has increased and what can be done to manage flooding and reduce flooding.