NASA has awarded more than $5 million to 29 institutions nationwide to expand and strengthen science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning beyond the classroom. The awards are designed to help build skills that lead directly to STEM careers. These organizations collaborate with libraries, after-school programs, and youth-serving groups to provide sustainable learning opportunities that inspire future innovators.
"NASA's TEAM II awards enable us to reach students where they are, be it a library, after-school program, or museum," said Elaine Ho, associate administrator of the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By extending NASA's discoveries to students everywhere we can build a powerful network of collaborators who are primed to deliver resources and programming that can transform outcomes for the next generation of explorers".
The institutions and their proposed projects were selected for NASA's STEM Innovator, as well as the Community Anchor Awards. Both awards are part of the agency's TEAMS Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) program, which engages formal and informal educators, students, and communities in NASA's missions as the nation enters a Golden Age of innovation and exploration.
Awardees for STEM Innovators act as regional hubs, building partnerships and networks to advance innovative informal STEM education practices. NASA selected 18 institutions to receive nearly $4.5 million in cooperative agreements to help deliver NASA STEM experiences to broad regional audiences. The selected institutions are:
STEM Innovator Awards
- Advanced Methods in Innovation, Inc., Youngstown, Ohio
- The American Museum of Natural History, New York
- Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Inc., Indiana
- Discovery Center of Springfield, Inc., Springfield, Missouri
- Discovery Place, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina
- Fab Lab, El Paso, Texas
- Hawaii Science and Technology Museum, Hilo, Hawaii
- Liberty Science Center, Inc., Jersey City, New Jersey
- Montshire Museum of Science, Inc., Norwich, Vermont
- Mount Washington Observatory, North Conway, New Hampshire
- National Space Grant Foundation, Inc., San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Orlando Science Center, Inc., Florida
- The Regents of The University of California, Berkeley, California
- Space for Teachers, Inc., Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado
- Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
- Universities Space Research Association, Washington
- University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
Community Anchor awardees serve as a local resource, with projects created to introduce NASA content and opportunities to varied audiences. The agency selected 11 institutions to receive more than $547,000 in grants to help bring their projects to life and create new connections between their communities and NASA. The selected institutions are:
Community Anchor Awards
- Children's Museum of Idaho, Inc., Meridian, Idaho
- Connecticut Science Center, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut
- The Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology, Inc., Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Exploration Place, Inc., Wichita, Kansas
- Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts
- Hawaii Keiki Museum, Waikoloa, Hawaii
- Lykens Valley Children's Museum, Elizabethville, Pennsylvania
- Memphis Museums, Inc., Tennessee
- National Space Science & Technology Institute, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Sciencenter Discovery Museum, Ithaca, New York
- STEM Flights, Stephenson, Virginia
The awards are funded through the agency's Next Generation STEM project, part of NASA's Office of STEM Engagement, which creates innovative resources and hands-on experiences designed to ignite curiosity in STEM and help students discover pathways into the aerospace workforce.
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