We know this school year is exceptionally challenging for both parents and teachers struggling to find a new norm for K-12 learning in the COVID-19 climate. It remains unclear what school will look like, and how teachers and parents alike will contribute to student instruction. National Day of Design offers real-world learning experiences to all learners and brings essential STEM skills to life. This year’s National Day of Design Mission, sponsored by Walmart, is titled Virtual Voyagers: Boldly Navigating Security and Virtual Collaboration.

Participating students will design an age-appropriate solution for protecting personal information in collaborative working spaces. The Mission, which has been re-imagined for use at school and/or at home, is conveniently broken into sections with implementation guidelines for individual, group, in-person and virtual use.

In the coming weeks, this free, standards-aligned curriculum and leader’s guide can be downloaded at www.nationaldayofdesign.com. In just a single-class period, students can develop real-world, relevant, job-readiness skills, and connect with a nationwide community of problem-solvers and trailblazers.

Day of Design Missions encourage students to create like an innovator by employing critical thinking, teamwork, and an entrepreneurial mindset while innovating a solution to the problem. In the Virtual Voyagers Design Mission, students will wrestle with a challenge that impacts their daily live and their communities: Cybersecurity.

We hope you will SAVE THE DATE, join the National Day of Design community in the month of October – Cybersecurity Month – and share your videos, quotes, and Mission-related stories using the hash-tags #DayofDesign2020 and #WalmartVirtualVoyagers and tagging @Walmart and @STEMconnector.

While you may not be able to join us in the Discovery Green tent this year, you can explore these STEM resources at home!