Black STEM Heroes is an elementary STEM curriculum that introduces students to the discoveries of Black scientists and innovators while teaching the core science concepts students are expected to learn in grades 3–5.
From the beginning, we intentionally introduced students to Black scientists and innovators through the STEMcx Academy’s workshops, camps, conferences, and field trips.
Over time, we noticed a clear pattern. Many students first encountered Black history through lessons about civil rights and slavery—important parts of American history. But they were far less likely to encounter Black scientists, engineers, or inventors whose discoveries shaped everyday technologies and systems.
By middle school, students could often name civil rights leaders but struggled to name scientific innovators from similar backgrounds.
Black STEM Heroes was created to help address this gap by integrating the discoveries of Black scientists directly into science learning. Rather than presenting these innovators only as historical figures, students explore their inventions, experiments, and problem-solving approaches while learning the STEM concepts connected to those discoveries.
Black STEM Heroes is an elementary STEM curriculum that introduces students to the discoveries of Black scientists and innovators while teaching the core science concepts students are expected to learn in grades 3–5.
From the beginning, we intentionally introduced students to Black scientists and innovators through the STEMcx Academy’s workshops, camps, conferences, and field trips.
Over time, we noticed a clear pattern. Many students first encountered Black history through lessons about civil rights and slavery—important parts of American history. But they were far less likely to encounter Black scientists, engineers, or inventors whose discoveries shaped everyday technologies and systems.
By middle school, students could often name civil rights leaders but struggled to name scientific innovators from similar backgrounds.
Black STEM Heroes was created to help address this gap by integrating the discoveries of Black scientists directly into science learning. Rather than presenting these innovators only as historical figures, students explore their inventions, experiments, and problem-solving approaches while learning the STEM concepts connected to those discoveries.
Through the STEMcx Academy, we began testing ways to connect science literacy, historical context, and hands-on learning.
We found that students learned far more deeply when lessons included multiple connected components:
• a short reading about a scientist
• a video explaining the discovery
• a hands-on investigation or engineering challenge
• guided discussion and reflection
When these elements were tied together intentionally, students began to see science not just as information—but as a process of discovery and problem-solving.
Engagement increased.
Questions became deeper.
Students began to connect scientific ideas to real people and real-world problems.
Over several years of running the program, we noticed something surprisingWhile students were excited about science activities—building, experimenting, and solving problems—the scientists and inventors connected to those ideas were often missing from the materials available to teachers and programs like ours.
When we looked for books, videos, and classroom resources featuring Black scientists and innovators, we found that they were:
• difficult to locate
• inconsistent in quality
• often written for much older students
• rarely connected to actual science lessons or standards
Most importantly, they were rarely integrated into the science learning itself.
The stories existed separately from the science.