f you were lucky enough to have a career day in school, you likely learned about some fairly standard professions: doctor, lawyer, businessperson, teacher. But where was “conservation scientist” in that mix? Thanks to the revamped “Discover Bats!” curriculum by Bat Conservation International (BCI), middle-school students now have the chance to learn about bat conservation science as a career path at a young age. Even more importantly, they’re seeing that women can—and do—lead the way in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

“‘Discover Bats!’ showcases 17 middle-school lesson plans that encourage the development of essential STEM skills and knowledge such as research, data collection, habitats, ecology, and conservation, and are aligned with the national Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards,” says Lear, who led the project.

That is, until recently. Thanks to Lear’s connection with the IF/THEN Initiative, BCI secured a grant from Lyda Hill Philanthropies to overhaul the curriculum with more accessible, standards-aligned materials that teachers can easily integrate into their lesson plans.

Once funding was in place, the team partnered with Expand Learning Consultants, a company founded by two retired teachers-turned-curriculum-designers who immersed themselves in the world of bats for the project. “They went into this not knowing much about bats, and now they are enthusiastic bat advocates, which is just so fun to see,” Cord says.

The result of their hard work is 17 lessons for grades four through eight that cover everything from bat anatomy and habitats to conservation strategies, and align with NGSS and TEKS standards. Best of all, the curriculum is free for all educators, available to download on BCI’s website. “The goal of this curriculum is to immerse middle school students in the amazing world of bats and showcase wildlife conservation as an exciting STEM career,” Lear says.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive from students and teachers alike. “We did a lot of work to make sure the curriculum is actually useful for teachers,” says Cord. “It’s not something additional to what they’re already teaching. They can easily fit it into their existing curriculum.”

BCI also unveiled the curriculum at the 2024 Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching in San Antonio, attended by 5,000 educators.

“We spread awareness of the curriculum, and we offered a training session attended by 30 interested teachers,” Lear says. “We also had a booth at the conference that engaged an estimated 500 educators to share this work and provide printouts of the lessons for teachers to take and use in their classrooms.” It was the first big push in what BCI hopes will be an expanding national rollout.

“Discover Bats!” isn’t confined only to the classroom. “We also worked with an informal educational expert, Sarah Adlis, to create two lessons for informal settings, like after-school programs or Girl Scouts, to make it relevant to other groups,” Cord says. “This way, the curriculum can impact students in nontraditional settings where interest in science might blossom.”

Plus, BCI supported hands-on community experiences to complement the lesson plans during the initial launch phase of the project. “We were able to bring 10 families, about 30 people, from Bonham Academy in San Antonio out to the nearby Bracken Cave Preserve in partnership with Latino Outdoors,” Cord says. “It was the first time out at the cave for many of the attendees, and they got to enjoy the bat flight along with an educational program about bats and bat conservation.”

Lear also shared her bat conservation experiences with attendees at the Girlstart Summer Camp, aiming to inspire their own conservation careers. “We were able to invite 50 families from Girlstart out on a Bat Cruise in downtown Austin. We rented a boat from Capital Cruises and the families got to enjoy a view of the world’s largest urban bat colony,” Lear says.

BCI even helped install bat gardens on the campuses of Bonham Academy and the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in San Antonio. “These gardens are accessible to all students at both schools for a combination of more than 1,000 elementary students total who will benefit from the hands-on learning opportunities that these gardens will provide,” Cord says. “The two bat gardens we installed with our school partners allowed students to put into action the learnings of the lessons, and they will continue to provide experiential learning opportunities into the future.”

“The more the curriculum gets out there in the world, the more we may have to tweak it,” Cord says. “What if there’s a state that has different standards that doesn’t work with everything else? Maybe there’s a way we can work with those teachers.”

But no matter the state standards, the core purpose of the curriculum will always remain the same—education and inspiration. “I truly believe that meaningful personal experiences with nature are the most powerful method for transforming students into lifelong conservationists,” Lear says. “Through the new “Discover Bats!” curriculum, I hope we can inspire the next generation of bat conservationists.”