Projects

2011 is an exciting year for Learning is for Everyone!  We’ve got an enormous range of opportunities to engage and inspire the Curiosity Driven Life at all levels, and to make learning accessible, engaging, fun and productive for more people.

Community STEM

LIFE”s award winning FIRST TechChallenge robotics team, Team Duct Tape,  is in its fourth season as a showcase community STEM education program, continuing to bring together area professionals and students from around the Odessa, FL area to show how effective STEM education can be at the community level.
This year we’ve also spun off a second FIRST Tech Challenge team in eastern Hillsborough County,  FL .  Using the same proven character-driven STEM learning principles that have made Team Duct Tape so successful, MISSION imPOSSIBLE Team (MIT), is bringing community based hands-on science and engineering education opportunities to youth in the Brandon, Seffner and Valrico areas.
LIFE Knowledge Faire 2011

Our annual statewide Celebration of Learning, formerly known as LIFE Fest, was reborn this year as the LIFE Knowledge Faire, and heads back to the Florida Gulf Coast bigger and better than ever, with a renewed focus on all the ways and means of innovative learning.  We’ll showcase youth invention and achievement, look at ways to inspire curiosity and interest in learners of all ages, and generally celebrate the Curiosity Driven Life.

TEDxYouthTampaBay

We’re the lead organizers for  TEDxYouthTampaBay 2011 . TEDxYouth@TampaBay 2010 was Florida’s first ever TEDx event and our inaugural hosting of TEDxYouth@TampaBay.   Planning is already underway for this wonderful and engaging way to experience “Ideas worth Spreading!”

Mentoring
Mentoring is a big part of our community outreach, utilized in our community STEM and other programs.  A continuing work in progress is our Mentor Match program, for which we’re seeking collaboration with other community groups.

 

And More!
And at the end of the year, look for our 2011 Local Spelling Bee again.  Last year’s LIFE of Tampa Spelling Bee winner, Tommy F., went on to compete at the  National Scripps Spelling Bee in Washington DC in 2011.

As always, we’ll continue to support informal educators throughout Florida with our LIFE of Florida statewide support and networking group, and nationwide through Learning is for Everyone resources.

Other projects include:

Our families, our communities, our states and our nations need Lifelong Learners who are capable of filtering vast amounts of information intelligently, learning quickly, adapting effectively to new technologies and economies, and actively engaged in their world.  LIFE is proud of our role in helping build lifelong learning communities, and looks forward to collaborating with other organizations throughout the year to truly help bring Learning to Everyone!