Metric Week Activities – Join the Celebration!

The NIST Metric Program invites you to celebrate National Metric Week, October 6 to 12, 2024, an annual event that occurs during the week containing the tenth day of the tenth month. Celebrate the 7 SI base units with 7 days of measurement fun and the NIST Guardians of the SI Superheroes! Communities across the country observe this educational holiday to raise awareness about the Metric System and the benefits of use in everyday life.

Sunday - Chart your Metric Week Plan!

 

Share your organization’s plans with your community. Review and expand the SI education resources available on your website. Tag @nist and use the hashtag #MetricWeek on related social media posts. Enjoy Running Out of Time, an animated video featuring the SI Superheroes race to keep the world's satellite navigation system "on time."

 

 

MONDAY - Share SI education resources with local K-12 Educators.

 

Explain how to request a free NIST SI Teacher Kit. View Mass Hysteria, where Monsieur Kilogram is kidnapped by the nefarious Major Uncertainty, putting the world’s measurements of mass in jeopardy. Make a DIY Lego Kibble Balance.

 

 

 

TUESDAY - Build SI understanding.

 

Practice “powers of 10” thinking. Watch the classic 1977 video. Construct a 1 liter cube and estimate the length, area, and volume of household items. Download, print, and display the updated NIST SI Relationships poster (SP 1247) in your home office or workspace.

 

 

WEDNESDAY - Host a live stream “lunch and learn” session.

 

Demonstrate how to use metric ruler. Challenge your friends to a virtual Mini-Metric Olympics. Share the benefits of SI professional development and how to become a Certified Metrication Specialist (CMS). Explain how to use common SI prefixes to easily change the magnitude of a quantity.

 

 

THURSDAY - Develop SI knowledge!

 

Play five question rounds of the NIST Metric Trivia Quiz using your Alexa voice personal assistant. Students are beginning to prepare for upcoming state and national science fairs. Learn more about the USMA Science Fair Awards Program and the free science fair judging guide. Explore the 7 defining constants that form the basis of all SI units.

 

 

FRIDAY - Become a SI Champion!

 

Learn more about U.S. metrication opportunities, case studies, and more. Discover how Going Metric Pays Off for U.S. industry. Share the US Metric Association Metric Awards information with a local high school senior or metric system champion who’s promoting SI use in their community. Share photos of Metric Week activities on social media (@nist) with the hashtag #MetricWeek.

 

 

SATURDAY - Spend time with family!

 

Bake a batch of delicious Metric Chocolate Chip Cookies. Enjoy watching the SI Superheroes use their measurement powers in Desperate Measures to help a stranded soccer player get home.  Envision a SI Superheroes inspired Halloween costume!  Break out the colored pencils and get creative! These NIST coloring sheets represent the 7 superhero characters along with their supervillain nemesis.

 

 

Resources

• NIST Education. Curated education resources for kids, including the Measurement League (Guardians of the S.I.), Kids Ask, We Answer series and the NISTory videos.
• Metric Program Training (NIST). Technical training and professional development courses.
• SI Teachers Kit (NIST). U.S. educators may request a free set of metric education resources by contacting TheSI [at] nist.gov (TheSI[at]nist[dot]gov) (include name, school, subject, grade level, phone number, and mailing address).
• Inexpensive Metric Rulers (Vendian). Print Centimeter Rulers and Color-square Rules on overhead transparency sheets.
• Create a How Big are Things liter cube or Cubic Decimeter Box using cardstock (Vendian).
• Metric Trivia Quiz (NIST). Try the quiz online or use the Alexa skill to test your knowledge and be on your way to thinking metric!
• Prefixes (NIST), Learn how to uses SI prefixes to create larger or smaller units by factors that are powers of 10.
• Writing with Metric Units (NIST). Increase familiarity with SI writing conventions used to communicate measurement results.

Spotlight on Metric Week

• National Metric Week (US Metric Association). Celebrate the week with a collection of ideas for use during Metric Week and throughout the year.
  • Tips to Educators Teaching the Metric System (USMA). These ideas for celebrating Metric Week can be used throughout the year!
  • State Governor Proclamations (USMA). Access official state Governor proclamations to promote metric system awareness in your community.
• Metric Week (South Carolina Academy of Sciences). Resources include useful aids for promoting metric system understanding and easy-to-use ideas on celebrating Metric Week.
• Discover NIST Education Resources (NEST-R Registry).

National Position Statements and Resolutions

Learn more about U.S. professional education organization positions on teaching the SI.

• National Association of Academies of Science (NAAS) - Adopt and Implement the Metric System in the United States - October 2012 – PDF
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) - The Metric System - July 2015 – PDF
• National Education Association (NEA) - Resolution B-57. Metric System (1969, 1996). The National Education Association believes in the adop­tion of the International System of Units (SI metric system). The Association advocates that the SI system be taught at all educational levels.
• National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) - Use of the Metric System - Adopted January 1999, Reaffirmed February 2016

Throwback Themes

• Seven Days of SI Fun (2023)
• Celebrate National Metric Week (2021)
• Happy Metric Week! Celebrating 100 Years of the U.S. Metric Association (2016)
• Introducing the League of SI Superheroes (2014)
• Metric Week Begins (2011)
• Metric Week (2010)