STEAM Hub announces second round of grants

Five educational projects were recently awarded mini-grants totaling $35,317 from the Umpqua Valley STEAM Hub. The following applicants were selected:

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Umpqua Valley — $11,889 for summer STEAM camp opportunities including purchase of kits for elementary and middle school camps.

Winston-Dillard School District — $11,000 for technology to improve computer-aided design offerings and to train teachers and develop related curriculum. Partners are Umpqua Community College, Umpqua Training & Employment and North River Jet Boats.

Umpqua Community College/Oregon State University Mobile STEAM Lab — $8,128 for development of STEAM kits, primarily engineering, and mentor training for UCC students.

Eastwood Elementary School — $3,100 to upgrade Eastwood Nature Day, an outdoor school experience in place for more than 10 years. Curriculum will be designed and resources updated.

Douglas Education Service District/North Douglas High School — $1,200 for staff members to attend the OATS Augmented Reality Science Fair to help establish a similar event in the Umpqua Valley.

Previous STEAM Hub mini-grants went to the Bright Works Healthcare Team ($15,980), a program of the Area Health Education Center of Southwest Oregon, and the UCC Explore Engineering and Computer Science event ($5,000) held Jan. 29 at UCC.

For more information about Umpqua Valley STEAM Hub and its grants process, contact Project Manager Lisa A. Lanza at 541-440-7848 or Lisa.Lanza@umpqua.edu.