Society for Science & the Public grants $35,000 to innovative organizations encouraging STEM and science literacy

We’re excited to share that the $35,000 in grants have been distributed to eight innovative organizations supporting community-based STEM projects. Earlier this year, the Society gave $20,000 to five other organizations.

Through the STEM Action Grant Program, supported by Regeneron, the Society funds mission-driven organizations that promote STEM and science literacy.

Read the press release.

STEM Action Grants

The STEM Action Grants support organizations that aim to nurture the public’s understanding of STEM fields, spark a life-long interest in and appreciation for STEM fields through unique programming and increase participation in STEM fields of underrepresented populations.

The following organizations received STEM Action Grants:

• BioBus, Inc. (New York, NY) will receive $5,000 from the Society to support their mission to help minority, female, and low-income students reach their full potential in science fields through hands-on science experiments in a mobile lab. BioBus visits schools in all five boroughs of New York City, and with an increased demand, the grants will fund at least two additional trips to schools and give over 300 students the opportunity to engage in science research. BioBus received this STEM action grant last year as well.
• Black Girls Dive Foundation, Inc (Owing Mills, MD) will receive $5,000 to support the group’s mission to empower and engage young underrepresented girls in marine STEM fields. The girls participate in many activities; some examples include building underwater remotely operated vehicles, SCUBA lessons and a Coral Restoration Program in Jamaica. The grant will help to fund additional remotely operated vehicles, underwater cameras and sensors, equipment for examining specimens and provide staff training.
• CodeVA (Richmond, VA) will receive $2,000 to support its mission of improving access to and quality of computer science education in the state of Virginia. CodeVA’s new program, Full STEAM Ahead, connects middle school girls to female STEAM professionals, a proven way to keep girls interested in STEM. The funding will support Full STEAM Ahead workshops. The grant will support a goal to reach 160 girls in the Greater Richmond area, offer at least 54 workshops and coordinate 70 speakers and volunteers to support computer science education.
• Georgetown Day School (Washington, DC), an independent K-12 school with a mission to ensure equity to children of all races, will receive $3,000 to support its annual STEAM conference. The grant will afford high school students the opportunity to connect with and learn about STEAM professionals by presentations and intimate dialogue. The attendees are from public, independent and charter high schools. Georgetown Day School in Washington DC has received the STEM action grant since 2015.
• Putting Birds in the Hands of Underserved Rural Youth/ Bird Conservancy of the Rockieswill receive $5,000 to expand delivery of STEM-related educational activities for low-income students in the Nebraska Panhandle, a predominantly rural community. The funds will also help extend the programs to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the first time, home to the Oglala Sioux. This Colorado-based nonprofit’s core mission is to conserve birds and their habitats by inspiring conservative action of communities and dissemination of scientific knowledge. This grant will allow bird conservancy educators to magnify the use of bird banding stations to engage underserved youth in scientific research.
• Sci-Inspire (Washington, DC) will receive $5,000 from the Society to support its mission to strengthen U.S. science education by cultivating and sustaining partnerships between institutions of higher education and K-12 schools. University volunteers connect with students in various ways like mentoring kids with their science fair projects and supporting in-class teaching. The funding will enable the organization to develop an “outreach management system” ensuring strong follow-up to make lasting connections. This is the second grant Sci-Inspire has received from the Society.
• Science from Scientists (Bedford, MA) will receive $5,000 to support and grow its mission to teach and inspire the next generation of scientists by improving STEM literacy and enrichment programs. The funds will help expand the organization’s In-School Module Based (ISMB) programs, which currently support 55 partner schools in Massachusetts, California, and Minnesota. The grant will contribute to wages for science instructors, lesson kits, supplies, administrative costs and more. This organization also received a grant from the Society during the 2016-2017 academic year. The anticipated reach for the ISMB project is 7,200 students and approximately 250 schoolteachers.
• Virtual Field Trips/Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (New York, NY), an educational and cultural museum centered on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, a National Historic Landmark, will receive $5,000 from the Society. As one of the world’s most successful historic ship museums, the facilities and exhibitions draw more than one million visitors annually. The grant will support a new videoconference based program called Virtual Field Trips, created for students who are unable to visit the museum physically. The grant will support 130 additional Virtual Field Trips in the upcoming year, giving underserved kids a chance to explore the Museum galleries and interact with Museum educators virtually, free of charge.