The Paleo Exploration Project has provided training in paleontology and geospatial analysis to 52 K-12 math, science, and technology teachers and over 80 middle school students from rural eastern Montana, an area that includes five of the state’s seven Indian reservations. Through a series of two-day weekend workshops, participating teachers learned about Montana's geologic history and fossil record, and were trained in the use sophisticated geospatial technologies to plan and conduct field-based geological investigations.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in partnership with Nebraska 4-H, is building upon an existing collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and Carnegie's Robotics Curriculum program to produce an innovative program focusing on Robotics, Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), as applied to the domain of precision agriculture and environmental science. The program aims to improve STEM learning outcomes, attitudes towards science and career path development of rural youth ages 12-15.

This proposal, "Students Investing in Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (SIMET)," is a request from Jackson State University for a three-year project that outlines a year-round program that includes: Saturday sessions, online/telephone homework support by a college-age mentor, a two-week summer residential camp, workshops for parents and internships. The program will serve a total of 90 underrepresented students over three years, with 15 students each year in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades and 15 students each year in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades.

The "TechREACH" project is designed to reach underserved middle school students and teachers in rural, eastern Washington. The project goals are to increase interest in STEM and IT, build the capacity of school and community audiences, and increase the number of students pursuing STEM careers. Project partners include Washington State University MESA, Digipen Institute of Technology, and the Red Llama software company.

The ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC hosted a convening designed to develop a theoretical framework to guide future research on youth motivation in STEM with a particular emphasis on populations most underrepresented in STEM. Two guiding questions were be the focus of the event: What is currently known about motivation in STEM for underrepresented youth? What can be done to cultivate new research around STEM motivation for underrepresented youth?

This project is a three-year, youth-based program aimed at developing and enhancing students' interest in Science and Engineering (S & E) and Information Technology (IT). The objectives are to: (1) stimulate interest in S & E among students who are currently underrepresented in S & E and IT fields through the spirit of invention; and (2) provide students with skills in IT that will enable them to conduct needs analysis, design, fabrication and evaluation of devices that meet the needs of persons with disabilities or persons who are elderly.

SRI and Girls, Inc. of Alameda County will develop a problem-based program for underserved middle-school girls. "Build IT" will serve 150 girls in three years providing each with 150 contact hours of programming. The program is designed to increase IT fluency, motivate girls to engage in IT related activities, encourage the pursuit of IT careers and increase interest in mathematics. Participants will progress through three stages: Apprentice, Journeygirl, and Specialist.

Photonics Leaders is a year-round science and information technology program for tenth and eleventh grade students from across North Carolina. The program goal is to guide and prepare minority students for success in STEM higher education programs and careers. In three years, nearly 80 underrepresented students of diverse backgrounds have participated in 300 hours of investigations and internships focused on electronics, optics, computer hardware and software at North Carolina State University and the Research Triangle Park.

This project is a collaboration among the Santa Fe Indian School, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and Pueblo Indian schools partnering to provide students, teachers, and tribal mentors with experiences using GPS/GIS, mathematical modeling and computer graphics. The work is based on a model in the Santa Fe Indian School in which curriculum is designed around problems and practices in traditional Pueblo Indian culture and life. Selected students and teachers will participate in a summer program, with coordinated follow-up sessions during the following school year.

The Ocean Institute (OI), in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps), Capistrano Valley Boys & Girls Clubs (B&GC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), is developing "SeaTech," a multi–year, Youth–based ITEST program providing 120 female and minority middle and high school students from underserved populations with 391 contact hours of information technology (IT)–intensive oceanographic research experiences.