The FUSE Studios project seeks to engage youth in meaningful ways on sustained pathways towards STEM-related careers and involvement in science in later life. FUSE Studios are organized around sequences of interest-driven challenges (e.g., robot mini-golf, MP3 amplifier, mobile app development jewelry design using 3D/cad) involving both digital and hands-on activities that are informed by authentic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations and practices, and linked together in a progression modeled after computer-game sequences.

The University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Hall of Science plans a five-year project to investigate the capacity of a previously developed clean energy-focused intervention model to affect positive learning outcomes and greater career awareness among a broader audience of under-represented group students aged 14-16.

This project will engage middle-school urban girls in learning sophisticated computer programming and electronics within supportive communities where the learning is embedded in meaningful projects. The project addresses the national need to engage more girls in computer science and engineering. It is a hybrid online and school-based/out-of-school (OST) program that integrates programming and electronics through interactive narratives.

A high quality, technical workforce requires that students, particularly those from underserved populations, have innovative experiences with computational tools and informational technology. The main goal of this Strategies project is to experiment with new content and methods for engaging students who are underrepresented in STEM fields in the computing sciences via a place- based curriculum that asks students critical questions about the environment and culture of their own region. Working with East St.

To address the needs of the US to increase the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) workforce with enhanced preparation and a diverse population of prepared secondary students, this strategies ITEST project will strengthen the current regional partnerships in place between secondary schools, the University of Cincinnati's Instructional Technology (IT) and STEM education programs, and local industries.

Involving more students from urban and rural areas in STEM fields and careers has been at the forefront of national STEM education reform efforts for decades. Research shows that engaging these students in STEM activities relevant to their everyday lives is critical to increasing their motivation, interest, learning, and participation in STEM. This project will address this need through engineering and computer science activities aimed at helping 400 middle and high school students grasp the intricacies of scientific principles and technology design.

The GIS Resources and Applications for Career Education (GRACE) project builds upon a recent NSF-funded project, the Mayors Youth Technology Corps (MYTC), that developed a model of geographic information systems and technology (GIS/T) based education. MYTC developed a model of purposeful applications of GIS/T-based education for STEM careers in the workplace that provided youth in economically disadvantaged communities experience using and applying GIS/T to real world situations.

Given recent advancements in geospatial technologies and the expanding geospatial technology industry, this project is timely in its focus on spatial thinking and strengthening geospatial technology skills among high school students. Students will investigate real world issues in the context of their own neighborhoods through citizen mapping activities. Students will use a variety of data collection devices, including GPS units, georeferencing cameras, and smartphones, along with secondary data, to investigate issues that students perceive as significant for their communities.

This strategies project focuses on a community-based model for providing middle and high school students who live in low-income public housing in the High Point neighborhood in Seattle, WA with opportunities to learn about STEM higher education and STEM careers and to develop interests, identities, and skills to pursue workforce opportunities in STEM.

This project will develop an ongoing partnership with disadvantaged schools across a 14-county region of New York that will facilitate teacher and student recruitment, preparation, and mentorship for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Project activities will focus on basic genome analysis and bioinformatics, and the partnership will be directed by the University at Buffalo Department of Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Sciences (BCLS) and the New York State Area Health Education Center System (NYS AHEC).