Annual Report 2021
SELECT SECTION
2021 Annual Report: STEM Action Grants
Through the STEM Action Grant program, the Society distributed $165,000 in grants to 38 nonprofits in 2021, the largest pool of recipients to date. Each of these organizations is working to advance scientific literacy and make STEM opportunities accessible to young people everywhere. They are leveraging passions for music, sports and nature to draw students into science and engineering fields via hands-on activities. The work of these organizations has always been vital, but their consistent and creative efforts to keep participants engaged in STEM activities during the pandemic has been remarkable.
The STEM Action Grant program bolsters and improves outcomes for students who belong to groups that historically have been left behind in STEM education and careers, such as students who are Black, Latinx, female, gender-expansive, deaf or hard-of-hearing, visually impaired, or low-income.
Lifting Up Girls in Metro Detroit
The STEMinista Project, a program of the Michigan Science Center, helps girls connect to and learn from STEM role models in metro Detroit. Using a $5,000 STEM Action Grant from the Society, the program was able to host virtual events to continue operating through the pandemic. Read more about the STEMinista Project on our blog.
Read the Blog Post
Meet the Grantees
Take a moment to learn about the exciting work being done by just a few of this year’s grantees.
STEM Action Grant Stories from the Society Blog
Other Outreach & Equity Programs
Connecting Educators to the Latest Science Journalism
Science News in High Schools delivers world-class science journalism to classrooms across the United States. The program’s Educator Guides supply teachers with lesson plans that are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and further engage students’ curiosity. Over 5 million students and 17,000 educators have participated in the program since its founding.
Investigating the Wide World Around Us
Through the STEM Research Grant program, the Society provided research kits to 100 middle and high school science educators to help their students conduct scientific research outside the classroom during the 2020–2021 school year. The teachers, who hail from 38 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, each chose from a selection of 13 high-quality kits valued at $1,000 each.
Supporting STEM Champions Across the Country
The Advocate Program provides training, stipends, equipment and year-round support to mentors working with underrepresented and low-income students interested in entering science research competitions. In 2020–2021 school year, students of the 66 Advocates took part in over 1,000 fairs and competitions.