Playing With Purpose: How Sports-Based STEM Learning Builds Lasting Impact

Explore real student stories, innovative STEM tools, and high-impact strategies that turn play into purpose and prepare learners for future careers.

In the News

Featured in the Youngstown Business Journal, STEM Playbook brought active, hands-on STEM learning to life this summer, turning reaction-time drills and Whack-a-Mole into powerful lessons in math, science, and student confidence.

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A woman with glasses and hoop earrings is kneeling on a gym floor, surrounded by three children. One girl is sitting on the floor in front of her, and two children are standing behind her. The gym has a wooden floor and red wall padding.

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Reaction Time Games that Build STEM Futures

How Fast-Paced Play Prepares Students for Future Careers

Summer campers build reaction time skills through hands-on games that connect physical play to real-world STEM career readiness.

Cleveland Guardians x STEM Playbook Baseball Camps

STEM Playbook teamed up with the Cleveland Guardian's RBI Baseball Camps to show young athletes how science and sports collide. From smart gear to real-time stat tracking, students gained hands-on STEM skills and career inspiration, right on the field.

STEM Playbook at the Yard: Building Future Skills Through Sports & Science

At the Northcoast Yard, STEM Playbook brought sports and science together to build real-world skills, spark curiosity, and connect movement to future STEM careers.

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Kids Get Moving and Thinking with Interactive Gaming at STEM Playbook Camp

STEM Playbook students boost brainpower through active games like Whack-a-Mole and Connect Four using the Nex Playground. It’s hands-on STEM learning powered by motion, strategy, and fun.

STEM Playbook Is Making Summer School Unforgettable

Struthers and Sebring students experienced a fresh approach to summer learning with STEM Playbook, where sports, movement, and tech turn STEM into a high-energy, confidence-building experience.

When Learning Supports Wellness: A Meaningful Discovery at Columbus STEM Program

A regular heart rate tracking exercise revealed elevated pulses in teens, demonstrating how hands-on learning creates dual benefits in health screening and data analytics education.

The Perfect Match: A Grand Slam with Advantage Cleveland

STEM Playbook and Advantage Cleveland partner to bring science education to tennis clinics, demonstrating how sports naturally integrate STEM principles.

From Wearables to Wow-Factor: United Way Gears Up for STEM-Powered Summer Camps

In preparation for a four-week summer camp for youth, twenty facilitators convened to experience a hands-on STEM Playbook professional development session like no other.

Bridging the Gap Between Sports and Science: Efficacy Report Release

STEM Playbook students in Northeast Ohio use basketball to learn complex concepts in math and physics.

Hypotheses, Heartbeats & High Scores: Students Connect Data and Physical Activity

Students explored science through motion - they were the game controllers. Students jumped, ran, and moved their way through the activity, watching their heart rates rise and fall as they leveled up.

Scoring Big with Science: STEM Playbook Partners with the Cleveland Cavaliers & NEOSTEM

On March 16, 2025, the Cleveland Cavaliers, NEOSTEM Ecosystem and STEM Playbook will team up for Score with STEM an exciting event for hundreds of families across Northeast Ohio that combines a love for basketball and STEM.

Sports as an Academic Discipline

Higher education has built momentum to champion sports as an academic discipline. We know that the connection between sports and STEM is a no brainer.

Pilot Program Launches at Northeast Ohio Boys & Girls Clubs

STEM Playbook Launches Innovative Sports-Based STEM Program at Northeast Ohio Boys & Girls Clubs

STEM Playbook announces a six-week pilot program bringing hands-on STEM education through sports to four Boys & Girls Clubs across Northeast Ohio. The program launched in January 2025 at two Akron and two Cleveland locations.