Science Museum Gets $2.5M For Rural STEM Centers

ST. PAUL (WJON News) -- The Science Museum of Minnesota has received $2.5 million in federal funding to establish a statewide network of Regional STEM Educator Resource Centers.

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The funding will allow the Museum to partner with regional organizations to open five new Resource Centers in greater Minnesota, bringing the Museum's total network to six sites statewide.

How the Regional STEM centers work

The new centers are expected to put STEM teaching materials, equipment, and professional development within reach of more than 87 additional rural school districts. The Science Museum's existing Educator Resource Center in St. Paul has served metro-area teachers for years with consultations, professional development, and a lending library valued at more than $500,000. The library includes stream tables, curriculum kits, skulls, and fossils. Because teachers typically visit the library outside school hours, its reach has been effectively limited to about a one-hour drive from the Museum.

The initial phase is already underway in partnership with Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji. Specific sites and collaborations are being finalized for the remaining sites.

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