Any Massachusetts K-12 school may register by September 18 to participate in the Zero Waste MA STEM Week Challenge — a part of Massachusetts STEM Week. Project Lead the Way and One8 Foundation’s Mass STEM Hub are sponsoring this real-world design challenge and offering educators free curriculum, training, and opportunities to connect with industry. Themes vary by grade level:

• K-2: Exploring food waste, understanding composting and recycling, and reducing your “foodprint”
• 3-5: Learning about novel energy solutions, understanding unintended consequences, and prototyping a way for your school to use cleaner energy sources
• 6-8: Understanding the impact of microplastics on the environment, animals, and our bodies and creating processes to decrease their spread
• 9-12: Exploring electronic waste and ecotoxicology, understanding the implications of the technology we use every day, and prototyping novel ways to refurbish used technology hardware.

Educators may register here by September 18. Volunteers may register here to be mentors and judges. For more information or to offer your own ideas, email stemweek@mass-stemhub.org.