Grant Spotlight: $1,000 to $5,000 for Project-Based STEM

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 06/19/2017

The Toshiba America Foundation is accepting grant applications for project-based learning in science and mathematics.

Foundation grants are awarded separately for grades K-5 and 6-12. Applications must be for project-based learning, and applications that are solely for computer, laptops or tablets will not be accepted.

Grants for K-5 classrooms are $1,000 each. Winning projects have included:

• A rooftop weather installation at Hilltop Primary School with a barometer, hygrometer, anemometer, wind vane and rain gauge that provides real-time data for a common area in the school and to students across the district through a website;
• Marguerite Montgomery Elementary's "Power of the Wind" project, which uses windmills the students built from kits to measure wind direction and speed at the school and to charge batteries that will power model airplanes that will in turn provide data about flight speed and distance for lessons about how energy is used; and
• La Jolla Elementary's "Forensic Joe Fridays," which aims to introduce students to the collection and presentation of scientific evidence to courts in service of justice.

Additional information about previous K-5 grant winners is available at toshiba.com.  Applications are due by Oct. 1 and must be submitted online at the company's K-5 grant page.

Grants for grades 6-12 are available on a rolling basis and are available in amounts less than $5,000 or more than $5,000, with application deadlines varying according to the amount sought. The next and final deadline for larger grants is Nov. 1. Upcoming application deadlines for smaller grants are Sept. 1 and Dec. 1.

"Funded projects in grades 6-12 provide students with the opportunity to 'do science' in new ways that promise to increase their engagement with the subject matter and improve their learning," according to information on the company's site.

Visit toshiba.com to learn about past grant recipients in the grade 6-12 category and visit the company's grant page to learn more or to apply for a grant.