Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) in Maryland recently announced the recipients of a package of mini-grants for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) from the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (BNBI). The mini-grants, worth a total of $34,000, were directed to individual teachers to fund their classroom efforts. The funding is also the latest in a longtime partnership between the school district and BNBI.

Dr. Nick Bergman, BNBI president, noted:

These STEM mini-grant opportunities allow teachers to respond to specific needs in their classrooms by making a simple request for up to $750 to purchase materials for STEM related classroom instruction, experiences or extracurricular clubs.

Educational resources

Among the efforts funded with the mini-grants, the following examples stand out:

• Oakdale High School – A Kastle-Meyer presumptive blood test kit for students to learn how blood is identified from other substances, and to determine if the blood is human.
• Walkersville Elementary School – The Bee-Bot Hive, a coding robot kit, designed to help students develop an understanding of computer science.
• Monocacy Middle School – Materials to create a greenhouse gardening experience with a focus on sustainable agriculture and opportunities for students to use STEM to solve real world problems.

“It is very important that we expand opportunities for our students to participate in STEAM experiences and we appreciate BNBI helping us in that regard. It’s wonderful that all 2022-23 mini-grant requests were funded!” said Dr. Cheryl L. Dyson, FCPS Superintendent.

The Frederick Soil Conservation District gives one or more $1000 scholarships to students! Check out the flier below. pic.twitter.com/zF6VuXf3av

— FCPS-MD (@FCPSMaryland) March 24, 2023

An alliance for science

Established in 2009, the FCPS/BNBI STEM Partnership has a long-term goal of getting more students interested in and better prepared to major in math, science, or engineering in college.

Since its inception, BNBI has donated $617,000 directly to FCPS, and BNBI staff have dedicated thousands of hours of time to assist in curriculum development, classroom instruction, and STEM activities outside of the classroom.

Get to know: BNBI

Since 2006, BNBI has operated and managed the National Biodefense Countermeasures and Analysis Center, located at Fort Detrick, for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate as a funded research and development center.