A New Approach of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Outreach in Climate Change, Energy, and Environmental Decision Making

Preparing a literate public to critically evaluate issues related to climate change, energy, and the environment is an important pillar toward more sustainable societies. In this article, we focus on how informal education and outreach programs that have a combined focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and on climate change can improve knowledge, produce interest in STEM careers, and prepare educators to communicate and teach issues at the crossroads of STEM and climate change. The first part of this article describes the structure of STEM outreach programs for K-12 students and teachers in various parts of the United States. The second part presents, in detail, the structure and results of the outreach program SUCCEED (the Summer Center for Climate, Energy, and Environmental Decision-Making), a K-12 outreach program created by Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP). SUCCEED aims to 1.) improve scientific literacy through a summer program focusing on climate, energy, and environmental decision making for students entering 10th grade and K-12 teachers; 2.) encourage the pursuit of STEM-related careers, and 3.) help teachers prepare curriculum in these disciplines, to be used in their classes. This article also discusses how both the university and the local community can benefit from outreach programs like SUCCEED.