Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams will meet students in a virtual field trip. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Digital curriculum provider Discovery Education is partnering with the NBA on a free, virtual field trip centered around next week’s All-Star Game.
Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams will join league and arena executives in explaining the application of STEM skills in their daily jobs. The NBA-Discovery Education digital experience takes place at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 14. The event will also include a live Twitter chat touting “special NBA guests.”
Joining Williams in the presentation is the NBA’s head of referee training, Monty McCutchen, who will take users on a tour of the league’s replay center in New York. Also participating from NBA headquarters is digital content strategy analyst Iveta Karapetian.
Charlotte’s Spectrum Arena will play host to the All-Star Game, and two members of the venue’s events and operations leadership, Trista Langdon and Alex MacKenzie, will speak about the application of math and engineering in their line of work.
Discovery’s NBA Analysis Tool, which is usually only available to the program’s Math Techbook users, will be available to all subscribers throughout February.
“Each day, members of the NBA family—from players and front office staff to league referees—use a variety of STEM skills in all aspects of our game and business,” said NBA SVP of social responsibility Todd Jacobson in a statement. “The NBA is excited to continue our partnership with Discovery Education to share with millions of students how the STEM skills they are developing in the classroom today can lead to a variety of exciting career opportunities in the future.”
SportTechie Takeaway
Discovery has a history of using sports as a medium for teaching. Its partnership with the NBA dates back years—including another virtual field trip back in 2017—and the educational platform teamed up with MLB just last month. Sports can help make these STEM principles come to life, and the ability to interactive live with an NBA veteran like Williams is an additional attention-getter for students.
