Get out of the lab and into the classroom with a science education grant

AAAS offering seed grants to partner people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics with K-12 classrooms

Many people in science careers want to get more people interested. After all, we love what we do! You should join us and love it too! The American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, has announced that they will be giving out grants for people in science to get in to the classroom.

I often ask people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, otherwise known as STEM, what made them go into science. For most of them, it started early. Maybe they loved finding out how things were put together. Maybe they discovered they could write little programs and make a computer do new and exciting things. Maybe they just loved being out in nature. Many of them discovered their love for science in school. They did a great scientific experiment in class. Or a scientist came to speak to their class. Whatever it was, something made science real to them. Something made science interesting.

Many of us in science love to see those moments when people connect with science. And if you’re in STEM, there’s a new way you can help make those moments happen! Now, AAAS will be giving out seed grants of up to $15,000 to help scientists partner with teachers to get science into the classroom.

AAAS got the idea for these grants from a recent report on preparing and inspiring STEM in K-12 classrooms.  The report recommended that K-12 classrooms partner with people who are engineers, mathematicians or scientists. The STEM professionals could help promote interest in their fields. Those people could be especially helpful in explaining how science works on a daily basis and showing that it’s not just big experiments. By showing students how science works instead of stating facts and figures, more students may be inspired.

Are you a teacher who wants to build a partnership with someone in STEM? Are you a STEM professional who wants to spend some time getting people inspired? Check out the instructions to find out how you can apply for one of the AAAS grants. It could be the start of a beautiful friendship, and a lot of inspiration!

Bethany Brookshire was a longtime staff writer at Science News Explores and is the author of the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. She has a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology and likes to write about neuroscience, biology, climate and more. She thinks Porgs are an invasive species.