News and Updates

After four years of service, Kate Houston has stepped down as President of the Synopsys Outreach Foundation. We appreciate her dedication and leadership to the organization's mission and adaptability during the pandemic. We wish Kate the best of luck in her next...

Our first series of STEM Shops concluded in September 2022 and we could not be more thrilled! The brainchild of our STEM Programs Manager, Lauren Foote, the STEM Shops program was created in 2022 to ensure we were proactively meeting the ‘back to school’ needs of Bay...

Synopsys Outreach FoundationVolunteer registration for our Fall STEM Shops has now closed, if you'd like to learn more about how to get involved with the Synopsys Outreach Foundation please sign up for our newsletter. “Invest in our...

RAFT's Teacher of the Year Awards recognize outstanding pre-K-12 teachers in the Bay Area who incorporate effective hands-on learning and/or maker education into their curriculum. This year, RAFT will recognize five teachers for their achievements in teaching STEAM...

As Bay Area teachers, students, and staff return from February break, the Synopsys Outreach Foundation is ramping up preparations for our Summer teacher professional development programs. We are pleased to be offering opportunities for all levels of educators...

From Trayvon Martin, to Ahmaud Arbery, to Breonna Taylor, our country is witnessing Black lives heinously taken from us. Our students are witnessing how society is responding to the loss of these lives, which is traumatizing for our Black students. What does this have...

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are well complimented by California’s innovative Environmental Principals and Concepts (EP&C). Project-based and problem-based learning (PBL) supports the dynamic integration of NGSS’s disciplinary core ideas, cross-cutting...

Animals The San Diego Zoo’s Global Academy brings wild animal investigations to K-12 digital classrooms by providing educators free access to their animal learning modules. Biomimicry Examples of design solutions from Biomimicry Institute will support educators in...

Outdoor environmental education and distance learning on laptops seem diametrically opposed. K-12 teachers throughout California have always relied on community education partners for getting students into nature and interacting with flora and fauna during field...