Society for Science & Public awards Venture Outdoors the STEM Action Grant

Thanks to the Society for Science & Public’s STEM Action Grant, local youth explored STEM activities outdoors

The grant Society for Science & Public has awarded Venture Outdoors has helped create and donate multiple STEM kits to children in the greater Pittsburgh area. Kits include outdoor lessons on how to fly a kit, build straw rockets, and make a cloud viewer and more!

The nonprofit organization Society for Science & Public devotes its time to sharing scientific research, news, and STEM education. Its publications Science News and Science News for Students include present day educational content about what is going on in the world to enlighten readers.  

In addition to being an informative resource, Society for Science & Public has held a variety of educational competitions over the years. These include the United States’ oldest science contest for high school seniors, the Science Talent Search, and the Broadcom MASTERS International Competition for middle school students. In more than 75 places across the world, Intel International Science and Engineering Fairs are held as well.  

On top of Society for Science & Public’s ability to inspire and educate people about the field of science, the establishment distributes its STEM Action Grant to nonprofit organizations who are working to increase people’s access to STEM education. This year, Society for Science & Public chose to partner with Venture Outdoors.

The STEM kits created from this grant include materials and instructions to help children carry out unique activities. Each kit contains six different experiments with directions and explanations about the experiments and their results. They have been given to our partner sites the South Hills Interfaith Movement and the Phillips Recreation Center.  

“In a safe environment, we were able to hold an in-person event with the South Hills Phillips Recreation Center. During the spring, we held a program that focused on airborne creations such as bottle rockets and parachutes for egg drops.” says Kelly Sarkis the Assistant Manager of Youth Programs. The children were taught how to construct these items and later tested them. Some of these experiences were moved online as well. With the South Hills Interfaith Movement, we were able to have virtual lessons with youth participants as well.  

Venture Outdoors STEM kits are not only super fun, but inspire children to critically think while learning more about science!