Grants for Community Organizations and Schools Serving Middle School Students – Deadlines June 8 and June 29, 2012

Boy Scout troupes, Girl Scout troupes, YMCA programs, science centers, museums, libraries, school clubs and other community or school based organizations should apply today for the 2012 Summer of Innovation grants!

The National Space Grant Foundation is working with the NASA Summer of Innovation office to administer the awarding of approximately 200 mini-grants to community and school based organizations that inspire and engage middle school students in STEM disciplines during the summer or in after school programs. NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden has identified improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning as a national need. To that end the Summer of Innovation Project was established.

We are very pleased to invite you to participate in this opportunity. Eligible organizations include but are not limited to Boy Scout troupes, Girl Scout troupes, YMCA programs, science centers, museums, libraries, school clubs and any other community or school based organizations. The target audience is middle school students and/or teachers of middle school students especially those involved with underrepresented and underserved populations.

This project is designed to support student interest in STEM by strengthening the capacity of organizations or schools that inspire and engage middle school students particularly female, minority, or high poverty students and enable these previously overlooked organizations to present Summer of Innovation content and themes in an efficient and cost effective manner.

The mini-grants will be awarded at about $2,000 – $2,500 per grant. The awarded organizations will be expected to present 6 hours of NASA STEM content to middle school students or deliver an educator workshop (for certified teachers, pre-service teachers, or informal education community) featuring NASA Summer of Innovation content or themes. This can be done through modification of an existing event or through planning a new event. Awards will be made in as geographically diverse manner as possible. The time line for these activities is to be during the summer or early fall of 2012.

Complete details and the application for these grants are located at http://soi.spacegrant.org/ There will be two rounds of awards made within the next two months. The first deadline for applications will be June 8, 2012; the second deadline is June 29, 2012.