Play Smart: Where Sports Meet Science Video Curriculum

K-12 STEAM education

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Many students struggle to see the real-world relevance of STEAM subjects, leading to disengagement, especially among underrepresented and underserved populations. Traditional classroom instruction often separates science from everyday experiences, making it abstract and inaccessible. This project addresses the need for innovative, culturally relevant educational tools that connect science to students’ passions—like sports—in a fun and entertaining way, making education more exciting and engaging. These connections help students better understand, retain, and apply STEAM concepts in meaningful ways. that connect science to students’ passions—like sports—so they can better understand, retain, and apply STEAM concepts in meaningful ways.

Play Smart: Where Sports Meet Science is a multimedia educational initiative that will produce a series of short, high-quality video episodes designed for classroom and online learning environments. Each episode will feature a different sport and highlight a notable athlete or expert who explains key scientific concepts—such as force, motion, velocity, and energy transfer—through the lens of athletic performance. The project will also include downloadable lesson plans, discussion questions, and hands-on activity guides aligned with state and national STEAM standards. By bridging the gap between physical activity and academic learning, the program will make science more accessible, inclusive, and engaging for all students.

If successful, this project will transform how thousands of students across Los Angeles County engage with science and education. By embedding culturally relevant STEAM content into a fun and familiar context—sports—we will inspire more students to pursue academic interests in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. This can lead to higher school engagement, improved test scores, and greater interest in STEAM careers, especially among youth in underserved communities. Teachers will gain access to dynamic, standards-aligned resources that support differentiated learning, while schools will benefit from a fresh approach that promotes both physical activity and intellectual growth. Ultimately, “Play Smart” will help build a more curious, capable, and confident generation of learners across LA County.