Battelle Funds STEM Arts Grants

Fifth annual program donates largest single-year total of $600,000 to 14 organizations

COLUMBUS, Ohio (June 21, 2017)–From engineering design to theatrical sign language, computer science to agriculture, Central Ohio students will have a range of new learning opportunities outside of the classroom thanks to grants from Battelle.

This year, Battelle awards $600,000 to fund 14 out-of-classroom learning activities in Central Ohio. This marks the company’s largest total funding in a single year as the Battelle STEM Grant Program completes its fifth round of awards since 2013. Providing new opportunities for students to experience quality science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education is Battelle’s top philanthropic priority. To date, the program has awarded more than $2.4 million.

“A successful STEM education relies on integration and application,” said Dr. Jeff Wadsworth, President and CEO of Battelle. “Linking creative disciplines to the STEM fields inspires the next generation of innovators to explore their passions and apply the skills they learn to the real world.”

The Battelle STEM Grant Program supports Central Ohio organizations that link STEM education to the arts.

“These programs provide powerful, innovative methods to reach more and more students,” said Dr. Aimee Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Education, STEM Learning & Philanthropy. “Every child deserves an engaging educational experience that will prepare them for college and future careers.”

The 14 out-of-classroom learning activities funded by Battelle include:

• Teen Open Studio – a project of the Columbus Museum of Art - $80,000
  • Teen Open studio is a twice weekly, drop-in program that has engaged an estimated 300 participants and is offered free to teens aged 13-19. The project provides a space where participants can exhibit creative, artistic thinking and benefit from peer collaboration, mentor guidance, and workshops with professionals.
• High School Coding Camp: The Next Gen of Coders – a project of the TECH CORPS - $65,000
  • TECH CORPS will expand and implement the IT On Ramp program in the summer of 2018 with a diverse group of 125 rising 8th and 9th grade students from several local school districts in an intensive, full-day, two-week summer experience that combines Computer Science and Information Technology skill building and career exploration through hands on activities.
• 21st Century Skill Building and Career Exploration – a project of Franklin County Historical Society (dba COSI) - $65,000
  • COSI will continue the Career Exploration and 21st Century Skills Building for Middle School Youth for the 2017-18 school year, intending to work with up to 180 middle school aged youths and place increased emphasis on career exploration through electronic media to provide more exposure to local STEM professionals.
• SIMPLR After-School STEM & Literacy Alliance – a project of the Directions for Youth and Families - $59,000
  • SIMPLR curriculum will reach approximately 105 children and connect engineering and science concepts to stories and characters children are already familiar with to promote deeper learning and creative expression through hands-on experience with infographics, blueprints, narrative and expository texts.
• STEM After Hours – a project of The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art and Technology - $58,000
  • Partnering with middle schools in Licking County, The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art and Technology will sustain and improve activities from last year’s initiative to offer creative out-of-school opportunities for students to explore STEM concepts and careers while expanding the program’s reach to over 200 students.
• Dowd Education Center STEAM Integration – a project of the Homeless Families Foundation - $50,000
  • The Homeless Families Foundation’s Dowd Education Center will expand their current program and aim to integrate STEAM elements into all afterschool and summer programming, including workshops that provide the mechanics of building, repairing and maintaining bicycles, explain how to implement an ongoing gardening program, and offer an introduction to robotics technology.
• Tree Tappers and STEM Community Outreach – a project of Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council, Inc. - $45,000
  • Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council Tree Tappers program explores different aspects of STEM every year to inspire girls to embrace scientific discovery through their unique curriculum involving the identification and tapping of maple trees for sap.
• Graham Elementary School/Graham Middle School Greenhouse Partnership: Pathways to Learning – a project of Graham Local Schools - $43,000
  • Graham Local Schools will add a greenhouse to their planned development of a 26-acre outdoor education center to serve the 1400 students at Graham Elementary School and Graham Middle School, as well as students at surrounding schools, by implementing an after-school gardening program as well as hosting STEAM summer camps.
• Exploring Modern Farming – a project of the Ohio Soybean Association - $35,000
  • The Ohio Soybean Association will equip and train 35 teachers to facilitate outreach events and launch an education program to help students, parents, other family and community members think critically and use interdisciplinary learning to investigate the latest farming methods.
• DIY STEAM Program – a project of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus - $25,000
  • The Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus DIY STEAM Program will use everyday materials to allow 25 children, aged 9-12, to explore scientific concepts like engineering design, chemistry, energy, electricity and aeronautics in innovative ways while receiving small group mentorship and hands-on training.
• STEM for All College and Career Exploration – a project of the Canal Winchester Local School District - $25,000
  • The STEM for All College and Career Exploration program will design and implement a sustainable system of Beyond the Walls Learning experiences preparing 1,725 middle and high school students for success within locally in-demand STEM career fields.
• Camp Days for STEM Education – a project of the Simon Kenton Council, Boy Scouts of America - $25,000
  • The Simon Kenton Council Boy Scouts of America will partner with Urban ScoutReach to provide the entire K-5 populations of Noble Academy and Parkmoor Elementary School, up to 500 students, with a “Classroom in the Woods” experience at Camp Lazarus in Delaware County.
• Highland Youth Garden: Where STEM Grows! – a project of the Highland Youth Garden (Fiscal Agent is the Gladden Community House) - $15,000
  • Highland Youth Garden plans to build on existing curriculum and programming to create an online game that allows 4th and 5th grade students to design and plan a garden, learn about plants, nutrition, and calculating costs, and then apply that knowledge to restore plants in the actual garden. 
• American Sign Language and the Performing Arts, an innovation in ASL – a project of Shadowbox Live - $10,000
  • Shadowbox Live will expand its partnership with Columbus State Community College to teach American Sign Language (ASL) students artistic interpretation and how to physically and emotionally embrace the characters performing on stage to expand theatrical interpreting services to the deaf community.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.