In June, we announced our new EdTech grant program that awards $500 of STEAM tools to one recipient every month. Our selection committee met last week and awarded the first grant to Melinda Pastuszak, an elementary educator in Virginia. Melinda is planning to launch a new school STEAM program for children and will be using her award for that.
“I’m super grateful for Eduporium’s generosity and support in building my program,” she said after learning she received the award. “I can’t wait to get my STEAM classes going this fall.”
With the $500 EdTech grant award, Melinda decided to request a few different STEM tools from across our store. Although everything from our store is eligible for grant recipients, she narrowed it down to a Squishy Circuits kit, the accompanying Dough Kit, and some Makey Makey kits.
Melinda already has some big plans for her new STEAM program at CES and she believes that these tech tools will complement her goals perfectly. Her goal is to utilize the products for multiple science and social studies projects across various grades. Initial plans for her new program launch include students using the Makey Makey and Squishy Circuits to build models that represent various concepts like parts of the flower and historic figures, and allow them to see firsthand how conductors and insulators work.
“I know the kids are going to be super excited to use their Makey Makey and Squishy Circuits to explore. They'll also have many opportunities to create in the classroom,” she said.
She also added that her excitement is due largely to being able to utilize each kit in a cross-curricular way. She’s hoping to engage students on deeper levels using tools for building interactive models of significant events from history. Ultimately, Melinda wants kids to see how coding's applicable in lots of different ways, especially as they prepare for their futures—and we definitely love where her head is at!
“They’re really going to get to take ownership of learning by incorporating STEAM ideas STEAM,” she said.
Melinda's entering a year of “STEAM firsts” and making efforts to expand STEAM education with 15 new positions, including hers. She and her team will be working with each student in their school for at least 45 minutes per week and she’ll also contribute to writing curriculum and engaging her community. With this technology from our grant program, Melinda is well on her way to impacting her students’ futures.
Our technology grant is open to all educators, and we are currently accepting applications for July's award until July 20. To learn more about the program and to submit an application, anybody who's interested can apply here. Also, you can download and fill out the Eduporium W9 form if needed. Good luck to all!