Museum of Science, Boston Commits $200K to Create Scholarships for Elementary Teachers in STEM Professional Development

The Museum of Science, Boston today announced a new initiative to bring high-quality professional development to elementary teachers at high-needs schools nationwide. The Museum is investing $200,000 to create a scholarship program that will help elementary teachers integrate engineering in their classrooms, using the award-winning Engineering is Elementary (EiE) curriculum, developed at the Museum's National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL).

"We are very excited to offer elementary educators the Museum's own scholarship program," says Museum president and director Ioannis Miaoulis. "It will build on the impact of successful corporate-funded EiE scholarship programs, such as one established by Raytheon in 2011, and greatly expand our ability to bring engineering to more teachers and students across the country."

"This scholarship program is a direct expression of commitment to our core mission, which is to see that all students have access to high-quality engineering education, starting at an early age," says EiE director and Museum vice president Christine Cunningham. "One way we do this is by giving teachers the tools and training they need to be successful teaching engineering."

Elementary teachers rarely have much experience with engineering, yet in many states are faced with new academic standards that put unprecedented emphasis on the "E" in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

The scholarships, which will be awarded on a competitive basis, will give each recipient a complete classroom set of EiE curriculum materials plus tuition and travel support to attend a two-day, hands-on EiE teacher professional development workshop at the Museum in Boston.

Because past EiE scholarship programs have primarily supported educators in high-needs urban school districts, some of the new scholarship slots will be awarded to teachers in rural districts and those who work with English language learners. "It can be especially challenging for teachers in rural districts to access high-quality professional development," says Cunningham. Other scholarships will be awarded to teachers whose classes include a high proportion of English Language Learners.

The EiE scholarship program will start accepting applications November 16, 2015, on the project website. Scholarship recipients will be announced in January 2016.

The affordable, inquiry-based EiE curriculum is the nation's most widely used engineering curriculum for students in grades 1 - 5; it has reached schools in all 50 states and is used statewide in Delaware, district wide in locations including Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Minneapolis, and in military schools under DoDEA. To date, EiE has reached more than 9 million students.

URL for scholarship applications:

http://www.eie.org/engineering-elementary/professional-development-scholarships-elementary-teachers

About the Museum of Science, Boston

One of the world's largest science centers and Boston's most attended cultural institution, the Museum introduces over 1.4 million visitors a year to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) via dynamic programs and hundreds of interactive exhibits. Founded in 1830, the Museum is the nation's first science center with a comprehensive strategy and infrastructure to foster technological literacy in museums and schools nationwide. In 2015, its NCTL received the National Science Board's Public Service Award, NCTL curricula have reached 9.5 million students and 104,000 teachers. The Museum's 10,000-square-foot Hall of Human Life draws on the latest discoveries in the life sciences to engage visitors in their own biology and health. Other highlights include The Science Behind Pixar (through Jan 10, 2016), the Thomson Theater of Electricity, Charles Hayden Planetarium, Mugar Omni Theater, Gordon Current Science & Technology Center, Butterfly Garden and 4-D Theater. Reaching over 20,000 teens a year worldwide via the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network, the Museum also leads a 10-year, $41 million National Science Foundation-funded Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network of science museums. Visit http://www.mos.org. Follow the Museum of Science on Twitter at @MuseumOfScience or Facebook at www.facebook.com/museumofscience.