Across the country, students are making a difference in their communities using science and invention. This includes students who have been under-represented in STEM fields, who are finding new ways to use their creativity and science skills to make their communities — and the world — a better place.
NewsHour Classroom reached out to some of the recent winners of STEM Action Grants from the Society for Science, which support innovative programs that tap into students' natural STEM skills and curiosity.
“At the Society for Science, we know there are systemic barriers that prevent talented people from having an opportunity to pursue STEM careers," Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the Society for Science and Publisher of Science News, said in a release.
"We are committed to breaking these barriers down. Each of the organizations we are supporting with STEM Action Grants has made a substantial impact in their communities and we are thrilled to support their work," Ajmera said.
You can read more below about what challenges these students are taking on, and what impact these organizations are having on young learners and leaders.
Rosie Riveters
Rosie Riveters , based in northern Virginia, "provides a fun space for girls ages 4-14 to imagine, create and play while developing their skills in STEM."
What challenges in your local community or the larger world are the young people you work with most excited about taking on?
As we cover the breadth of STEM in Rosie Riveters' programs our participants' interests and innovations span a wide range. From climate science to artificial intelligence our participants are excited to apply their critical thinking and problem solving skills to the challenges of today and tomorrow.
What kind of impact do you think your organization has on the community? What achievement are you most proud of?
Rosie Riveters empowers girls from diverse backgrounds to have confidence in themselves. Through productive struggle our participants build their critical thinking and problem solving skills and as a result their overall confidence in STEM.
Nothing brings more joy than seeing our Rosie Girls graduate and carry their STEM interests with them as they pursue their careers. We are empowering the innovators and leaders of tomorrow and we cannot wait to see what the future holds.
FORA
Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America (FORA) is a Chicago based organization that provides high dosage tutoring and education opportunities for recent refugee students, including STEM opportunities.
What challenges in your local community or the larger world are the young people you work with most excited about taking on?
FORA’s student body is made up of refugee students from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ukraine, South Sudan, Eritrea, Syria and Bhutan, and every student has had limited or interrupted access to education as a result of war or persecution. For many of our students, this denial of education has impacted their family for generations.
Our students are now incredibly excited for opportunities here in their new home of Chicago to pursue fields such as STEM, where they see a future in which they can be the first generation to succeed, and in doing so increase representation of marginalized communities in this field.
What kind of impact do you think your organization has on the community?
Recent research shows a 1%-10% high school graduation rate for Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE students). As a result of FORA’s educational enrichment programs, 100% of our SLIFE students are on track to graduate high school.
These gains impact our students not only in terms of the actual science knowledge they learned, which we know will be extremely valuable as students continue their education — but also in terms of the “soft skills” that will enable students to overcome problems, persist in their pursuit of education, and ultimately achieve their goals.
Latinas in STEM
" Latinas in STEM' s mission is to inspire and empower Latinas to pursue, thrive and advance in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) fields."
What challenges in your local community or the larger world are the young people you work with most excited about taking on?"
At our elementary school level events, our volunteers focus on creating the "a-ha" moment. That excitement that comes from understanding why things work the way they do, or an experiment's surprising results. Our older participants see the possibility of their participation in improving the digital world while maintaining their cultural heritage. Bringing Latina flavor to all they do.
Ultimately, the excitement comes from helping to make a difference and break down belief barriers in the potential they have to succeed in any field, especially STEM fields.
What kind of impact do you think your organization has on the community? What achievement are you most proud of?
Inspiring by example is an important part of creating a vision in our Latino communities. Parents need to see possibilities for their children's futures as much as young students need to see STEM in action. Our conferences and events spark an interest in STEM fields for many of the young Latina women we serve that alters their lives trajectory. We have been fortunate to be a catalyst for young women who are now robotic engineers, published coding authors, and students pursuing advanced degrees.
As a founding member, I am thrilled that our organization has been providing this type of inspiration for almost 10 years.
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in Boston
Save the Harbor 's mission is to "restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy."
What challenges in your local community or the larger world are the young people you work with most excited about taking on?"
Our 40 youth environmental education program staffers — primarily Boston Public School teens — are most excited about breaking down barriers that prevent everyone from sharing equitably in the benefits of our spectacular urban natural resources, improving the environment and quality of life in their communities and finding ways to protect our city and the planet from the devastating effects of sea level rise and climate change.
What kind of impact do you think your organization has on the community? What achievement are you most proud of?
As the region's leading voice for clean water and the restoration and protection of the marine environment, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay is proud to have helped to transform Boston Harbor from a national disgrace to the cleanest urban harbor in the nation.
Black Girls Do Engineer
Black Girls Do Engineer focuses on "reaching the youth and young adult women of color and guiding them towards success in STEM careers and how to conquer these STEM industries."
What challenges in your local community or the larger world are the young people you work with most excited about taking on?
Our girls are always excited to engineer new innovation processes, whether it is designing a hair straightener using a type of renewable energy, designing hardware to clean up debris in space, doing projects around carbon reduction, building robots or understanding how to do procedures with robotics assistant, Black Girls Do Engineer is already innovating to solve future engineering problems.
Our girls keep returning day after day to tackle the next problem to impact the world and their communities. Most importantly, they are teaching the skills they are learning to their communities.
What kind of impact do you think your organization has on the community? What achievement are you most proud of?
Due to our robust growth, we have expanded this year to two new major cities: Los Angeles and New Orleans, as well as continuing to conduct hands-on STEM activities through our virtual platform, making us a national nonprofit. Most recently, we were given a proclamation from the Mayor of Houston giving us our own "Black Girls Do Engineer Day," which will allow us to continuing impacting our community with our annual STEM Days events.
You can read more about the full list of recipients of the Society for Science grants here .
If you'd like to get challenge your own students to solve challenges in the community through invention, check out NewsHour Classroom's invention lesson collection .
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