New grant awards from the Toshiba America Foundation to support exciting Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) education programs in grades 6-12
NEW YORK, NY, — The Toshiba America Foundation (TAF) today announced nearly $60,000 in grants for 23 innovative classroom STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic) projects in grades K through 12.
The grants will allow students to learn about biology, chemistry, engineering, math, physics, and environmental science including genetics, human anatomy, robotics, coding, and 3D printing. Additionally, the grants will address community issues and innovative hands-on lesson, such as community sustainability and well-being – the common thread across all 23 projects is that they incorporate novel ways to introduce STEM disciplines into the classroom.
One such grant is for Dr. Contreras at Tornillo High School, his students hope to find, trap, and study mosquitos near their south Texas community, as mosquito borne diseases are a major concern in Tornillo. They will utilize Toshiba grant funds to purchase supplies for students to manufacture and engineer solutions for improving the current methods to capture and study medically important invertebrate species and increase surveillance around the Rio Grande valley of West Texas. Students who participate in the research program will become familiar with the practices and skills which make a successful scientist such as technical writing, engineering, and scientific study design.
“STEM occupations play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy,” said John Anderson, President, TAF. “STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. The grants being awarded by TAF will make the STEM classroom more exciting for both teachers and students – and result in more students becoming engaged in this crucial field.”
TAF’s grants take a “direct-to-teacher” approach by aiming to fund projects designed by innovative classroom teachers, which brings immediate results. Teachers are able to enhance the way they teach STEM subjects because the grant supports equipment for hands-on experiments and project-based learning in the curriculum. TAF believes that learning STEM subjects through this type of experience is a lot more fun and engaging than just reading a textbook.
STEM educators interested in applying for a K-5 TAF grant should apply here by Oct. 1. STEM educators interested in applying for a 6-12 TAF grant can apply here. The deadlines for > $5K are May 1 and Nov. 1. The deadlines for < $5K are March 1, June 1, Sept. 1, and Dec. 1.
