STEM "Kickstarter" Grants Awarded to 17 Maryland Schools

Each year the chapter sponsors its STEM Kickstarter program, which provides grants of up to $5,000 to area schools. This year's program was extremely competitive with 28 proposals being submitted by schools in Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Howard and northern Prince George's counties. Teachers and students submitted applications that covered a wide range of K-12 curriculum needs, robotics and science clubs, and even pre-K education. The chapter granted 17 awards this year, totaling more than $64,000. Items to be purchased by the schools based on this year's grants include drones; MakerBot 3-D printers; laptops with CAD software; LEGO Mindstorm robots; wind turbine kits; programmable rovers; Snap Circuits; BeeBots; and Osmo gaming kits. In addition, as part of the STEM Kickstarter program, schools are connected to the chapter through a liaison member, who answers questions and helps to make connections to other chapter resources such as science fair judges, career day speakers and the scholarship program. The schools receiving grants this year are: Maryland City Elementary School in Anne Arundel County; Severna Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County; Archbishop Spalding High School in Anne Arundel County; Folger McKinsey Elementary School in Anne Arundel County; Indian Creek Lower School in Anne Arundel County; Glen Burnie Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County; Broadneck High School in Anne Arundel County; Annapolis Area Christian School - Upper in Anne Arundel County; Van Bokkelen Elementary School in Anne Arundel County; Meade Heights Elementary School in Anne Arundel County; Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School in Anne Arundel County; Digital Harbor High School in Baltimore City; Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Howard County; Mount View Middle School in Howard County; Northfield Elementary School in Howard County; Ellicott Mills Middle School in Howard County; and DeMatha Catholic High School in Prince George's County. The schools have received their checks and the chapter will honor the recipients at the Annual Awards Night on May 3, 2018.

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