Developed at Northwestern University and propelled by an initial grant from the National Science Foundation in 1994, the Materials World Modules (MWM) Program was established to undertake the development and dissemination of supplemental materials science education curricula for middle and high school students. Given the pervasiveness of materials in everyday life, the developers of MWM felt that the study of materials would facilitate students' discovery of the interconnections between science, technology, and society (STS). Thus, the curriculum was constructed around the theme of materials science and engineering. Teams of Northwestern faculty, high school teachers, and professional editors and designers were involved in the development of the program.

The MWM team opted to design the modules as a series of inquiry and design-based curricula, each focusing on a specific type of material. A total of nine modules were created. Each module was field tested by science teachers in a wide array of courses, including chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, physical science, technology and engineering, and mathematics. Extensive field tests enabled the MWM team to solicit feedback from a diverse group of teachers and students. Teachers in all subject areas reported that the use of the modules enabled students to make connections between concepts from the traditional curriculum and the world around them more frequently than ever before. One of the MWM program's hypotheses was confirmed: By facilitating greater student awareness of the relationships between scientific and technological concepts and real-world applications, the study of materials did indeed enhance the teaching of traditional science curricula.