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Algalita Marine Research and Education provides educational experiences that empower individuals to understand the full scope of plastic pollution and its environmental impacts on people and the planet. The group launched the River End Watershed Program, which is the first downstream education and cleanup program to serve the San Gabriel River. Selected for a $5,000 grant, Algalita plans to use the funds for staffing and materials to support all-expenses-paid field experiences for educators and students from marginalized communities to participate in trash cleanups and specimen collections in the area. Funding will help the group reach its goal of removing 18 tons of harmful anthropogenic debris and educate participants about the impacts on the water quality of the San Gabriel River.

Through research initiatives dedicated to marine and environmental sciences, ANGARI Foundation uses technology, film, and other media to raise awareness and strengthen the global community committed to maintaining a healthy and sustainable ocean. The $5,000 grant will allow 17 students and teachers from a local Title I school access to shore and ship-based educational opportunities, including a day at sea onboard a 65-foot research vessel. The grant will allow participants access to ANGARI鈥檚 Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks Expedition Experience to work with scientists and experience authentic marine and environmental science in action. This immersive program goes together with current investigations of ecosystem restoration and water-related problems.

APEL Education targets rural communities to provide educational services aimed at preparing students with learning pathways for careers in a global, information-age economy. A $2,500 grant will help fund APEL鈥檚 Summer Enrichment Camp, a hands-on learning STEAM experience that provides a fun environment while fostering skills like problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration. The grant will cover instructional supplies for STEAM lessons and activities, as well as IXL Learning Software.

A climate-appropriate, regenerative habitat garden, Arlington Garden in Pasadena is a biodiverse urban habitat that supports the ecology of the surrounding neighborhood through carbon dioxide sequestration, and a wildlife habitat with bees, butterflies and birds. A $5,000 grant will help integrate STEAM concepts into the Arlington Garden Nature Journal and pilot field trip program for preteen and teen students. Hands-on workshops will explore topics including composting, nature photography, field journaling, botanical observation, and drawing.

As a previous recipient of STEM Action Grants, Austin Youth River Watch transforms and inspires youth through environmental education, community engagement, and adventure. It combines youth development with intensive environmental science education to allow BIPOC teens to experience hands-on science and learn to be active stewards of the planet. The $2,500 grant will support afterschool and summer programming, which is focused on environmental education and restoration projects, and includes opportunities for teens to receive a robust environmental science education with emphasis on hands-on science and service learning.

Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation (BGDE) is a nonprofit organization that strives to inspire and encourage girls ages 6鈥� 21 to consider and pursue STEM-related careers. Current programs focus areas include artificial intelligence, coding, robotics, energy, medical, aerospace, and audio/visual production. $5,000 will support the group鈥檚 third annual conference, which will introduce girls in underserved communities to STEM via hands-on activities and access to STEM professionals.

Blue Marble Space Institute of Science promotes cooperative exploration of space, focusing on planetary habitability and the origins of life. Educational partnerships and programming explore astrobiology, climate change, and exploration of remote space and the solar system. The $5,000 grant will support summer STEM experiences for young people in American Indian communities, who will learn in a parallel pedagogy that encourages self-identification with STEAM by integrating Western Knowledge with Native Traditional Knowledge. With a particular focus on mid- and high-power rocketry, the grant will help efforts to form new rocketry clubs, to begin intertribal rocketry challenges.

Calculated Genius connects youth from historically marginalized groups to pathways in engineering and technology by providing direct technical and career readiness education programs, scholarships, and one-on-one professional mentorships. Educational initiatives and curricula are focused primarily on cybersecurity, introductory game design, foundations of engineering, and professional skills development. The group plans to use the $5,000 grant to fund workshops and summer camps to offer STEM education initiatives to high school students in underrepresented communities in Chicago.

Change The Tune will receive $5,000 to fund summer camps and afterschool workshops to immerse facilitators and students in a multidisciplinary STEM curriculum that intertwines science with real-world issues, particularly focusing on health and environmental impacts. The training and curriculum are designed to increase science literacy and foster a deep understanding of how scientific principles can be applied to social justice, sustainability, and community health. The group aims to close the gap for BIPOC youth in underserved communities by creating holistic, radical, and transformational extended learning experiences in partnership with communal organizations.

Ciencia Puerto Rico is a global community that collaborates with teachers and scientists to create and disseminate culturally relevant STEM lessons that meet educational standards and awaken curiosity and critical thinking. It plans to use $5,000 to conduct community listening sessions to understand the concerns of Puerto Rican communities regarding climate change. Sessions will focus on existing knowledge and efforts to mitigate climate change locally and how realities vary by community. Information collected from the sessions will be used to create a national public service campaign to encourage climate and health actions, as well as two community science projects aimed at mitigating the impact of climate change.

Close the Gap, which provides educational initiatives and mentorship opportunities for first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students interested in STEM and current technology-based careers, will receive $3,000 to help fund after-school programs and scholarships. The group offers myriad programs through which fellows collaborate with mentors to complete a Social Impact Project, which addresses real-world challenges in their communities. These projects provide hands-on experience and serve as notable achievements for resumes and college applications.

Coastal Expeditions Foundation provides students with access to field trips and workshops to gain exposure to and experience low-country ecosystems and wildlife conservation efforts. A $4,000 grant will support hiring a local crabbing expert to supplement the Kids on Point Program, which provides Title I students in kindergarten through eighth grade with experiences designed to increase their STEM literacy by learning about local wildlife, ecology, and practical stewardship. This program is a collaboration between the Coastal Expeditions Foundation and Charleston Waterkeeper, a local nonprofit organization that protects and restores Charleston鈥檚 waterways.

Code/Art provides pathways in STEM for girls and non-binary youths to foster interest in technological careers that focus on art, creativity, and social good. A $5,000 grant will support five existing summer camp programs, and a new initiative aimed at providing girls with a way to tap potential in coding through dance. Girls participating in the Girls Rise Up summer program will design and complete programmable electronics to be used in dance costumes and coded animation stage projections, which will be featured in an end-of-camp production.

The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology strives to foster the study of paleontology and provides a unique research program for students in which they study fossils they find on collecting trips and publish the results of their research in collaboration with museum staff. The Cosplay for Science Initiative brings collaborating scientists, educators, and enthusiasts who use storytelling, pop culture, and immersive engagement in non-traditional settings to reach a broader audience. The bulk of the $5,000 grant will support accommodations for invited scientists and research teams at Cosplay for Science events.

Culturally Relevant Science is dedicated to creating innovative and inclusive STEM curricula for all students, especially those from underrepresented communities, in an effort to create a diverse talent pipeline poised to thrive in STEM careers. The group will use the $5,000 STEM Action Grant to develop a comprehensive digital learning platform to serve as a centralized repository for its culturally relevant curricula.

Detroit Education Takeover (DET) addresses the academic and career needs of Detroit students and their families, with a focus on developing critical lifelong skills. Its STEM Exposure Program offers workshops, field trips, and mentorship opportunities, and a $5,000 grant will support its mission to provide hands-on learning experiences, as well as training in public speaking, critical thinking, teamwork, and decision-making. Building on the momentum of their 2023 STEM Action Grant, DET will use this year鈥檚 funds to expand and enhance STEM programs for underserved youth in Detroit.

Develop for Good supports underserved and underrepresented college students by connecting them with nonprofit organizations where students work with industry mentors on projects with real-world impact. The goal is to provide aspiring college-aged designers, engineers, and product managers with structured learning experiences to jumpstart their careers and address the systemic diversity issue in tech. A $5,000 grant will help cover the operating costs for a biannual, four-month program where the group matches students and recent graduates with industry mentors to work on technology projects for nonprofits. Since 2020, the group matched 2,500-plus students and mentors on more than 194 nonprofit projects.

The Engineer Factory will use $5,000 in grant funding to hire local college students as STEM coaches for their 50 camp attendees and purchase 10 additional drones for its Summer STEAM Camp. The five-week program traditionally includes math bootcamps, college readiness activities, field trips and STEM projects. The group was founded to level the STEM education playing field for students in under-resourced communities and its summer camp program is designed to encourage BIPOC students to pursue higher education and careers in STEM.

A $5,000 grant will help Excite All Stars support their STEM Enrichment Program, an initiative aimed at fostering academic achievement, leadership skills, and personal growth among local youth impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated societal challenges. The program offers year-round, holistic programming in STEM, along with components of arts, athletics, leadership development, and empowerment. The initiative is threefold, focusing on enhanced academic achievement, increased college and career readiness, and strengthened community involvement. It is specifically designed to address the heightened levels of trauma and learning loss experienced by youth following the pandemic.

Dedicated to supporting young women on a path to STEM careers, Expanding Your Horizons of San Diego (EYH) provides three interconnected programs: a full day of interactive, hands-on STEM workshops for girls in grades 6-10 (the EYH Conference); a smaller, social and hands-on program for young women in grades 10-12 (EYH Caf); and a network for undergraduate women pursuing STEM careers (EYH College). The group plans to use the $5,000 grant to provide buses and fee waivers to about 60% of participants for the 2025 EYH Conference. The conference brings together 350-450 girls in grades 6-10 from varied socioeconomic backgrounds and different schools across the county and provides simultaneous hands- on workshops presented by local scientists.

To combat the underrepresentation of foster care youths in STEM fields, First Star provides high school youth in foster care with programs and support to transition to self-sufficiency through higher education or other viable pathways. To address the underrepresentation of foster youth in STEM fields, First Star offers programs and support to help high school students in foster care transition to self-sufficiency through higher education or other viable pathways. First Star Academies include four immersive residential summers on a university campus with monthly sessions during the school year. Youth receive support from STEM professionals and peer mentors, many of whom are former youth in foster care. The $5,000 grant will help fund workshops incorporating First Star National STEAM Academy, a virtual learning program for low-income, BIPOC individuals, into the existing Academy curriculum. In addition to STEM lab sessions, part of the curriculum involves Tech Talks on topics such as space travel and digital healthcare.

Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America (FORA), which was founded in response to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, seeks to ensure that refugee families are provided access to an education that can prepare them to become economically self-sufficient and robustly engaged in American civic life. FORA will use their $10,000 Capacity Building Grant to expand STEM programming, including robotics, alongside their regular High Impact Tutoring (HIT) initiative. The current HIT program provides 10 hours of afterschool tutoring in literacy and math to more than 100 refugee students. The group is set to move into a larger building, which will allow for the introduction of additional students into the programs. Grant funds will be used to expand STEM programming to include not only VEX Robotics for middle and high school students, but also Lego Robotics for elementary school students and Math Circles for all students.

Forgotten Heroes Foundation will use $5,000 in grants to support Hero STEM Days, which are two-day camps offered multiple times per year to youths aged 12-18. Camps take place in a hangar, where students are surrounded by historic planes and modern-day jets. Students are provided one-on-one opportunities to fly with a pilot and learn about STEM and aviation career paths. Grant funds will help accommodate larger numbers of attendees and volunteers, and will include access to Project Green Sky, a learning initiative focused on green energy aviation efforts.

Full STEAM Forward (FSF) promotes equity in science education by engaging girls from minority populations in free STEAM-based programs designed to develop a sustained passion for the sciences. With three previous STEM Action Grants, FSF will use a $10,000 Capacity Building Grant to expand on a face-to-face pilot program through the addition of three new face-to-face and one online cohort in New York City and Philadelphia. FSF’s goal is to successfully develop a face-to-face session, which combines their curriculum and materials with a partner school’s own teacher to deliver the program. Funding will also allow for onboarding programs for new teachers. STEAM enrichment programming includes sciences involving habitats and the changing planet, with a new curriculum introduced this year regarding artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

The GEMS Camp allows racially and ethnically minoritized teen girls from underserved communities access to culturally relevant summer and school-year STEM programming experiences. Project-based learning, peer mentoring, career and leadership development, and wellness activities are at the forefront of GEMS four core programs, all of which vary in length and location, and are geared specifically towards age groups ranging from middle school through high school. A $5,000 award will help offset costs to enhance programming, including the provision of a handful of full-tuition scholarships to STEM summer camps. Field trips, community service-based opportunities and workshops to help students develop their voices via storytelling and data are also planned.

Girls Dream Code, which seeks to empower underrepresented young girls to pursue an interest in technology by providing free workshops and computer science-based programs, will receive $5,000 to support two main programs. The programs, Code Your Path and CodeTalkz, run throughout the school year and provide hands-on educational experience in the fields of programming and software development. The initiatives focus on increasing knowledge of STEM concepts like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and the girls will work on web and mobile app projects to learn how the projects can tie into a current social justice issue or community-based solution.

Girls 4 Science strives to provide girls in the Chicago region with early exposure to STEM programming, including access to women working in STEM fields. The $5,000 grant will help support their Saturday STEM Academy, which provides hands-on experiential learning through small group science exploration, themed field trips, and professional mentorship. The program offers year-round, six-week sessions at three locations. Funding will help with lab space rental, instructor stipends, and field trip admission/transportation.

GrowGood, Inc. uses urban agriculture to provide access to high-quality produce, jobs, skills training, healthy green space and nature-based mindfulness programs for historically marginalized communities. The group will use $5,000 to help fund a series of 10 educational workshops to increase awareness and understanding of regenerative urban agricultural practices and how to implement individual food-growing practices in both small and larger-scale environments. Workshops on composting, hydroponics, and inground and container gardening will advance the group鈥檚 mission to educate the community about the benefits of regenerative agriculture in urban communities.

With 31 chapters worldwide, INTEGIRLS hosts biannual math competitions for girls and non-binary students affected by (trans)misogyny, geared towards reducing the gender gap in mathematics and STEM-related careers. By participating in these competitions, students are inspired to pursue careers in mathematics and other STEM-related fields. The group plans to use its $2,500 grant to strengthen their national infrastructure, purchase technology, and expand promotional efforts across the U.S.

The International Network of STEM for Blind and Low-Vision aims to connect people worldwide who are blind or have low vision (BLV) to foster growth in STEM for the BLV community. A $2,500 STEM Action Grant will support the creation of a hands-on exhibit specifically designed for the BLV community, where visitors can touch and interact with accessible STEM materials. The funding will go toward purchasing hands-on materials from stationery and hardware stores, which will be adapted into manipulative exhibits for the “All You Can Touch & Feel” suite. While the project is currently focused on a single exhibit room, it is part of a larger vision for a future museum dedicated to BLV accessibility in STEM. The group notes that no such museum currently exists.

Knowing Neurons plans to use $2,000 in funding to host a NeuroPolicy Paper Competition aimed at helping early career researchers鈥攗ndergraduates, graduate students, and professionals within five years of earning their doctoral degree鈥攕harpen their policy writing and communication skills, enabling them to better inform communities on how neuroscience concepts can guide policymaking. Neuroscience research can inform policies about many topics, including the use of artificial intelligence, how to treat addiction, and how to improve early childhood development. Knowing Neurons, which will host podcasts on topics covered in the papers, seeks to make neuroscience approachable to individuals from any background, while providing a platform for early-career scientists to communicate their ideas to the general public. Their request for funding will also support their efforts to develop a full Turkish language website by late 2024. This initiative will expand their outreach and impact, enabling them to engage with and include a Turkish-speaking audience more effectively.

Lazarus Educational Services supports youth and adult programming in Wilmington’s Eastside, an under-resourced and impoverished community. They plan to use the $5,000 STEM Action Grant to support a summer camp program that combines a current STEAM program with an interactive, gamified, musical project. The CodeJam project serves as an inclusive platform for people of all backgrounds to collaboratively generate music through computer programming, circuitry, and other STEM disciplines. The funds will be used to purchase materials and provide scholarships for student participation in the project, which revolves around the creation of an interactive musical sculpture that will ultimately be shared at a community event.

Math N’ More aims to provide engaging and equitable STEAM education, with a focus on ensuring scholars master the fundamental principles of mathematics. Through personalized afterschool and summer tutoring, they seek to reinforce the belief that everyone is a math person by offering community programming, parent workshops, and professional development for educators. Their $5,000 grant will help the group acquire additional virtual meeting licenses to serve as a tutoring platform. Money will also be set aside for weekly scholar engagement prizes.

Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory鈥檚 (MAGIC鈥檚) mission is to provide equitable access to technology innovation, education and incubation for rural communities. Through technology-driven economic and workforce development programs, the organization creates and nurtures talent and entrepreneurship, elevating rural hubs of innovation in Central Maryland. A $5,000 grant will be used to expand their middle school robotics club, which is currently offered to a single cohort of 10 students per year and teaches Vex robotics. Funding will also be used to create an elementary school robotics club that teaches Finch Robot platform.

The Mississippi Delta Nature and Learning Center (MDNLC) will use $5,000 to offset costs associated with offering field trips and weekly activities for elementary students that provide hands-on experiences developed around the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards for Science. The overarching goal of the project is to introduce children in the Mississippi Delta to careers in science fields that are currently unavailable to them due to a lack of knowledge. MDNLC will provide access to this knowledge through direct instruction on careers available in various scientific fields paired with hands-on activities that show children examples of work that would be done in those careers.

The National Youth Science (NYS) Academy aims to inspire lifelong engagement with and ethical leadership in STEM via programs that complement and enhance traditional school curriculum. The NYS Academy鈥檚 weeklong STEAM Adventures Summer Day Camps provide underrepresented, low socioeconomic status, Appalachian students with rural outdoor recreation opportunities involving drone technology, cybersecurity, coding, MakerSpace/technology activities and introductions to STEAM research. The $5,000 grant will go directly to supporting program costs associated with STEAM Adventure Day Camps, including supplies, instructor compensation, and free lunches for all participants.

Nehemiah Community Empowerment Center aims to provide at-risk teens in underserved areas with career exploration in STEM, robotics, and information technologies. Teens attending previous summer camps delved into topics like 3D printing, coding, drone flying and PC assembly. A $5,000 Stem Action Grant will help the group launch a satellite site in High Point, where they plan to add curriculum on artificial intelligence and gaming to the cadre of offerings. Money will also be used to purchase additional iPads that are essential to their STEM programming.

An Open Book Foundation offers interactive literacy programs to provide equal access to connect students in low-income areas to high-quality authors, illustrators, and their books. The group鈥檚 STEM Residence Program brings in professional scientists and non-fiction STEM writers to allow students to explore STEM-related concepts and participate in hands-on, extended lessons related to science. The group plans to use the $5,000 grant to fund a four-day intensive STEM Residence Program that will, among other things, provide students and teachers with a materials kit to use during and after the multi-day residency.

Using open technology, OpenWise Learning blends STEM and youth leadership curriculum with social justice curriculum to offer underserved youth opportunities through four major programs 鈥� Immersive, Academic Year Sessions, Mentorship, and Apprenticeship. These programs focus on overcoming educational disparities by providing tailored learning opportunities to provide students with technical skills and a deep understanding of their potential community and global impact through integrated lessons on social and ecological justice. The $5,000 grant will be used to hire part-time summer associates, with the goal of doubling the number of participants who can attend the group鈥檚 summer program.

Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research鈥檚 (PSBR) mission is to promote a better public understanding of the importance of biomedical research and its contributions to human and animal health, with the goal of offering people from diverse racial and economic backgrounds the opportunity to engage in scientific exploration and career-connected learning. PSBR will receive $2,500 to support its SPARC (Science Program and Research Coach) program, through which it provides mobile, hands-on, career-infused biomedical science programming designed to inspire students to create awareness and connections to the life sciences and healthcare fields. Funds from the grant will support weekly sessions for 25 students, supplies, and travel for field trips.

Pink Space Theory will receive a $10,000 Building Capacity Grant to help expand on math development, green energy living, and workforce development programming throughout underserved and underrepresented students in Prince William County鈥檚 Title 1 schools. Pink Space Theory’s mission is to engage and empower youth with STEAM learning experiences to prepare them for their future career paths. The funding will assist with hiring consultants to develop blueprints for expansion and outreach, including new funding options.

Project Invent empowers students to invent technology-based solutions to solve real-world problems in their communities. A $5,000 STEM Action Grant will aid in funding their yearlong program, which culminates in a Demo Day where students can pitch ideas to investors. The program is customizable and includes teacher training, professional development, and workshops designed to provide students with skills to succeed individually and impact globally through invention. Because students are designing for their community, they can connect STEM to culturally relevant topics, especially for students who don鈥檛 show interest in the typical applications of STEM.

PS Science will use a $5,000 STEM Action Grant to offer four sessions of a two-week-long STEAM Rangers Summer Science Institute Camp to 120 children from Title 1 elementary schools throughout L.A. County. At these camps, instructors lead students through in-depth science investigations to solve engineering challenges. Past sessions provided opportunities for students to build solar cars, create flying machines, program robots, and create a kinetic structure. Additionally, visiting STEM engineering and pharmaceutical professionals leads students through experiments, answer questions, and provide insights into the daily life of a STEM professional.

The Rainbow Dance Theatre seeks to create groundbreaking dance theatre productions that blend collaboration, diverse cultures and technology. With $5,000 in funding, the theatre will continue workshops and summer camps with productions that serve as a gateway to support STEM literacy for underrepresented and BIPOC groups. These immersive programs aim to foster STEM literacy by combining coding, dance and technology, providing hands-on experiences and mentorship opportunities to nurture the next generation of diverse talent in STEM fields. In addition to current programming, the funds will help launch 鈥渋LumaDance Revealed,鈥� a dynamic dance and technology school assembly program that highlights the intersection of STEM and the arts in underserved areas.

The Red-Tailed Hawks (RTH), a chapter of Black Pilots of America, engages underserved students in STEM involving the aerospace and aviation industries. Their programs leverage the principles of flight, aviation history and experiences in STEM/aviation application to help students understand the science and physics that make aviation possible. RTH will use $5,000 in funding to support three multi-day summer outreach camps that teach kids about aviation history, aerospace science, and flight principles.

By providing immersive scientific experiences to students from low-income, historically excluded, and underrepresented backgrounds in Cleveland, Rise Up: Northeast Ohio enables diverse scientists to work one-on-one with them. This program guides students through a full year of brainstorming, grant writing, and experimental design. Their $5,000 STEM Action Grant will help ongoing activities to provide hands-on work, scientific presentation at an annual Symposium, and student publication in a peer-reviewed research journal. The funds will help offset costs associated with publications, volunteer outreach, and project expenses and will equip Rise Up to pair more professional scientist volunteers to students through recruitment, training, and mentorship.

Roaring Cubs Collective (RCC) is run by early-career academic researchers and aims to introduce high school and middle school students to the world of STEM research. The $5,000 grant would primarily be used to conduct annual background checks for volunteer mentors, as well as maintain the online infrastructure needed to conduct and share the program via Zoom, website domains, and Wix Pro accounts. Two new programs – Personalized Academic Advising and Research Working Groups – will also receive aid. The Roaring Cubs Collective strives to remove systemic barriers that hinder access to STEM research for underrepresented and disadvantaged students, including limited resources and lack of mentorship.

SciAccess, Inc., an organization addressing the lack of support for the disabled community in STEM, will use a $5,000 grant to provide ASL Interpreting and CART captioning needs for SciAccess events. These funds will be used to pay for ASL Interpreters and CART for a variety of internal and external activities, including meetings with volunteers, sessions at the SciAccess Conference, and at a variety of other interactions where ASL and CART are essential for the full participation of disabled people. The funding will help cover 76 hours or more of inclusive communications for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Scientiae immerses students in artificial intelligence, digital literacy and comprehensive STEM education and training to pave the way for sustainable, technologically advanced cities of the future. The group will receive $5,000 to support summer camps, afterschool programs, and staff training to further its mission of providing students with access to high-quality STEM education, fostering curiosity and innovation, promoting diversity and inclusion, and inspiring a lifelong love of learning in science and technology.

See3D, Inc., organizes the printing, design, and distribution of 3D printed models for people who are blind, visually impaired, or have low vision. The group, which provides 3D printing consulting services to people who want to learn strategies to print and design non-visually or with magnifiers, will use $5,000 to fund workshops and programs with an eye towards building a cohesive cohort of schools that have access to a 3D printer, but lack printing support. Funding supports ongoing mentorship programs consisting of biweekly sessions with 3D printing mentors who specialize in 3D printing and accessibility.

A $5,000 Stem Action Grant will go towards STEAM Forward Academy鈥檚 Project G.L.O.W. (Girls Learning Opportunities and Wellness), a multi-session program that arms young girls and gender-expansive youth with knowledge of STEAM concepts and awareness of STEAM occupations. The cohort-style sessions feature culturally relevant curriculum and take place on weekends and after school. Funding will also support SFA鈥檚 Virtual STEAM Forward! Academy program, which provides access to STEM mentors, hands-on learning experience, and small classroom sizes.

With programs that teach data design, cybersecurity, and mobile app design, the Shooting Stars Foundation offers programming to provide equal access to STEM knowledge that will allow students to pursue tech majors in college. A $2,500 grant will go towards the TechBridge Immersion Program, which offers Bay Area students access to computer technology education and skills. The program is limited to 30 students, to provide focused and personalized attention from STEM mentors and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. TechBridge professional mentors also provide counseling and guidance to pursue STEM studies, not only to achieve academic success, but also to provide a path to long-term career success.

SoundBio Lab makes life science work accessible by providing a safe, biology makerspace where individuals can pursue their own original research projects. They curate collaborative research experiences to allow participants of all ages to build technical laboratory skills while applying biotechnology to local issues. With support from volunteer mentors, they also deliver programs and workshops that allow youth and adults from marginalized communities to launch successful STEM careers. A $5,000 STEM Action Grant will go towards building out their roster of lab skills courses, including Microbiology Essentials and CRISPR Biotechnology, and offering stipends to recruit instructors.

STEAM Superheroes wants to empower underserved youth in Southern California with access to quality STEAM education and foster a pipeline of future innovators and leaders in the field. They will use the $5,000 grant to start pilot programs for underprivileged children featuring workshops, practical assignments, and partner programs in STEAM subjects. Funds will be allocated to buy the necessary educational materials, tools, and devices for implementing the program. Some of the money will also be used to evaluate program impact and outcomes, and to build organizational capacity.

STEM for Flathead Valley Schools offers in-classroom programming and an extensive STEM Resource Library available to all the schools it supports in Flathead Valley. The library has resources for teacher education and classroom lab materials to give the students hands-on lab experiences in applying the concepts of physics, electricity, magnetism, and circuits labs. A $5,000 grant will allow the group to add additional solar telescopes and lab materials to their STEM Resource Library, including Dash robots, electronic/magnetism kits, and physics-of-motion kits. Funds will also be used to replenish consumable materials and books for discussions about the solar system, atmosphere, and weather.

Dedicated to advancing the well-being of underserved families by providing accessible and equitable community-based STEM education, STEMkofa offers innovative programs, mentorship, and resources to serve as pathways for individuals from diverse backgrounds to pursue and excel in STEM fields. A $5,000 STEM Action Grant will help reduce the costs that are passed on to families whose children are interested in attending the Black Gems in STEM Summer Program, a one-month summer enrichment opportunity designed to expose elementary and middle school students to STEM through a series of hands-on activities.

Stemsational Girls Club Foundation challenges preconceived ideas around STEM in traditional learning environments and seeks to reverse the structural patterns that have seen girls drift away from STEM throughout their educational careers. Through year-round weekly STEM programming, including field study options where students can shadow mentors, the group focuses on academic improvement and career inspiration for girls from underserved communities. A $5,000 in funding will help bolster current programming, including those with scholarship and tuition assistance grants.

Through competitions, scholarships and clubs, the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering creates equitable experiences for students from underrepresented groups to explore futures in engineering. TAME will use $2,500 to align its curriculum to the new Science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) deployed by the Texas Education Agency, as well as to boost TAME Club and Competition programs with TEKS-aligned resources, focusing on UN Sustainable Development Goals. The group seeks to spark curiosity in engineering concepts and to nurture a sense of community that will support long-term success in engineering education and careers.

Thinkatorium currently brings four traveling museum exhibits to Title 1 schools for either in-school field trips or family STEM and STEAM nights. Existing exhibits鈥擬aker Band, Discovery Bubbles, Robotic Art, and Save-a-Duck 鈥� are available in both English and Spanish and are aligned with Texas teaching requirements. A $4,000 grant will help create a new interactive STEAM exhibit that encourages problem solving skills around flight.

A $5,000 STEM Action Grant will help Treasure Coast Girls Coalition support academic STEAM-based programming geared towards future careers and mental health issues for girls across Indian Creek County. The group will use the funding to bolster staffing and materials associated with learning initiatives delivered via summer camps and after-school workshops. Programming includes support with digital literacy and a behavioral health component centered around emotional intelligence and culinary arts.

trubel&co is redefining the STEM education landscape by prioritizing civic innovation and equitable data analytics, ensuring underserved youth are at the forefront of societal transformation. The group will use $5,000 to support the expansion of its flagship virtual summer course, Mapping Justice, with a pilot in Hawaii鈥攑articularly in areas ravaged by climate catastrophes. Through this expansion, high school students will build data-backed maps and historically informed narratives that address the need for societal and environmental change. Targeted instruction on geospatial tools and data analytics will equip diverse high school students with STEM tools and a commitment to reshaping society for the better.

Urban Scholar Academy aims to change the lives of urban youth through academic enrichment and community service opportunities. The group鈥檚 two flagship academic programs will receive a total of $5,000 in funding to support materials and curriculum development, helping students engage in interactive learning activities that promote a deeper understanding of the scientific process. More than 100 children participating in the group鈥檚 Homework Club and Seasonal Camps programs will benefit from projects and field trips to allow them to explore and discover the wonders of STEM.

Victory Village will receive a $5,000 STEM Action Grant to support its CODEXCEL Construction and STEM Occupational Training programs, which are aimed at establishing a continuous pipeline from kindergarten through undergraduate studies for students interested in pursuing careers in high-demand STEM fields. Grant funds will allow the purchase of materials including laptops, software licenses, higher speed wi-fi hotspots and training kits. The programs are designed to prepare teenagers and young adults for college and entry-level engineering/tech internships. Drone programming, drone piloting, computer building and software programming are among the evolving topics covered in the programs.

Virtual Science Teachers (VST) provides immersive virtual science learning resources and will use $5,000 in grant funding to hire personnel and acquire software to significantly improve accessibility and create Spanish translations of its five major programs. The online resources are freely available to teachers and students and include virtual labs, escape rooms and interactive self-guided presentations. In addition to Spanish translation services, VST is committed to ensuring that its virtual programs are fully accessible to students with visual impairments and those who use keyboard navigation.听

Youth Outreach in Science Technology Engineering and Math (YO STEM) is using their $5,000 STEM Action Grant to help fund a STEM Carnival, a fun-filled day of high-level STEM activities and games led by science and engineering professionals. The carnival will serve as a vehicle to promote STEM education, inspire future STEM careers, promote diversity and inclusion as well as increase public awareness of STEM fields. Additionally, through its three flagship programs鈥擥irls in STEM, STEM Saturday, and a co-ed competitive robotics club鈥擸O STEM aims to empower underserved students through providing hands-on STEM experiences to give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace and positively impact society.

The Young STEM Professionals will use $5,000 in funding to launch two new programs based on requests from teens participating in ongoing tech initiatives. The All-Girls Electrical and Coding program will provide female teens the opportunity to explore electrical engineering, coding and programming, while the Gaming Industry Exploration Program will introduce students to game design and development, equipping them with the skills to pursue careers as producers in the gaming industry.