Grant or Paid Opportunities

• Apply for a $7,500 High School InvenTeam^® Grant 

  Do you know high school students who are ready for a real challenge? The InvenTeam Grants Initiative, created by the Lemelson-MIT Program, offers an opportunity for students to cultivate their creativity and solve real-world problems through experiencing invention.  

  • InvenTeams are teams of high school students, educators, and mentors which receive grants of $7,500 to invent working technological solutions to real-world problems.
  • High school educators and their teams may apply for the InvenTeams grant.

    • Important Dates for Teachers:

    • Application opens: National Inventors' Day February 11, 2025
    • First round deadline for teacher applications: April 23, 2025
    • Invitation to submit final application: May 5, 2025
    • Each InvenTeam chooses its own problem to solve.
    • Up to 10 schools will be awarded the InvenTeam grant.

• Montana Students' Travel Grants

  $300 Field Trip Travel Grants Available for Primarily Fourth Grade Classrooms

  Glacier National Park has been selected as a National Park Foundation Open Outdoors for Kids (OOK) Grant recipient. Glacier National Park and the Montana Environmental Education Association are partnering together to provide students from across Montana the opportunity (with an emphasis on fourth grade) to visit public lands and tribal lands of their choice.

  How to Apply for a grant:

  To apply for a grant, complete a 2024-25 Montana Students on the Land Travel Grant Application. Grant applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis and continued to be awarded as long as funds are available.

  Field trips must take place by June 1, 2025. Applicants must indicate that they are going to a public land or tribal land site that is supported by the Open OutDoors for Kids Grant Program. Educators receiving grant awards must agree to complete a post-visit report after their field trip that includes a field trip photo.

  Preference will be given to applicants that:

  • Describe in their applications how they will implement a “three aspect” project that includes a pre-visit lesson, the field day, and post visit elements. (Ex. Plan to include interpretative and/or educational programs at public lands sites.)

  • Hold Title 1 school classification during the 2024-25 school year (if the applicant is school-based)

You can find answers to commonly asked questions on our FAQ sheet. If you have other questions please contact glac_education@nps.gov.  Have a majority of fourth graders in their classroom/group.  Originate from underrepresented geographic areas across the state.

• Montana Environmental Education Association (MEEA) has a contracted position open, help them reach and grow their network, and organize opportunities for environmental educators across Montana by acting as their Administrative Coordinator. This position can be remote, with some in-person presence at specific events.  This position will be contracted to a payment of $7,333 per year.

• 21st Century Community Learning Center Competitive Grant Update  The 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant provides funds to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs). Grantees are awarded a minimum of $50,000 each year for 5 years. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers provide opportunities for academic enrichment during out-of-school time in a community learning center environment.  Services reinforce and complement regular academic programs and offer literacy and educational development to students and families. You can apply, see the timeline learn a little more on the website. 

• CSX Community Service Grants (includes schools) with suggested ranges from $1,000 to $5,000

• A Series of Webinars Exploring the Power and Promise of Invention Education

  We’re excited to share the recordings from our recent Partners in Invention Education webinar series. Each session dives into key topics designed to empower educators and administrators and explore how anyone can bring invention education to their school or district. The sessions include:

  • What is Invention Education? Why does it Matter?

    • This webinar presents an overview of invention education and what makes it unique. Discover how invention education can be implemented in classrooms along the pathway from elementary to higher ed.

  • Introducing Lemelson-MIT Resources and Curricula

    • We share highlights of our unprecedented curricula and demonstrate how incorporating invention education in the classroom is not only feasible, but engaging for both educators and students.

    • The webinars are all available on the Lemelson-MIT YouTube channel. Click below for to be directed to the playlist with all three webinars available to view.

  • Educators Share Stories from the Field

    • During this webinar, educators currently facilitating invention education will share how they got started, the challenges they faced, and the remarkable outcomes demonstrated by their students.

• Aldrin Family Foundation Map Package Grant Application Aldrin Family Foundation has worked with donors to make Giant Mars and Moon Map packages available for distribution to individual schools, school districts, and informal education organizations throughout the country in areas where we believe they can do the most good, especially in under-served communities.

Challenges and Competitions

• 2025 Student Essay Contest for 7th and 8th grade students Deadline for submission is April 10.

• Montana Envirothon 2025 competition: Roots and Resiliency: Fostering Forest Stewardship in a Canopy of Change. If you are interested in registering your team, please contact Tenlee Atchison, Executive Director at tenlee@cascadecd.com or Teresa Wilhelms, Administrator at secretary@cascadecd.com for the registration form, rules and hotel information. You can also call 406-866-0020.

• NASA/NESSP Student Challenge! This exciting STEM opportunity allows students to engage in an interactive challenge aligned with NASA's Artemis mission goals.

  For teams that qualify, the Montana Challenge will take place on May 20th at Montana State University in Bozeman. It’s a wonderful chance for students to showcase their skills and creativity in a dynamic, hands-on environment.

  Contact Ryan Hannahoe if you have any questions.

• Apply or Nominate Educators for Prestigious Shell Awards

• I am the "M" in STEM, American Mathematics Competitions for MS students

• Lemonson-MIT Invention Challenges, sign up for their Newsletter.  

• Ongoing Challenges: 

  • Inspired Classroom offers many challenges throughout the school year.  To learn more go to their FAQs webpage. 

  • Ongoing Challenges Big Sky Film Institute (Late deadline October 13)

  • NASA always has some challenge going on!  Subscribe to the NASA Express newsletter to find more NASA opportunities.

Student and Classroom Opportunities

K-8

• Nautilus Live - Ship to Shore Interactions: 

  • Looking for an exciting way to bring STEM to life in your classroom? Nautilus Live is offering free, live Ship-to-Shore interactions with their team of scientists and engineers currently conducting expeditions in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

    These interactive sessions, lasting 30-60 minutes, are a fantastic opportunity for students to ask questions and engage directly with experts working aboard the ship. The Nautilus team is particularly eager to connect with Montana teachers before their season concludes in mid-December.

    Learn more and schedule your session here: Nautilus Live - Ship-to-Shore Interactions

    Don’t miss this chance to inspire your students with real-world science and exploration!

• From NASA EXPRESS:

  NASA’s Climate Kids brings climate science to life with games, interactive features, and exciting articles.

  Explore key concepts about Earth science, missions, and climate with "NASA's Earth Minute" videos.

  Find tips for incorporating hands-on data collection activities into your programs with the GLOBE Observer: Toolkit for Informal Educators.

  Peer into NASA's Earth Observatory to find images, stories, and discoveries about the environment and Earth's systems.

  For even more Earth science resources, visit the NASA STEM.

K-12

• Help Scientists Search for Asteroids Around Dead Stars

  Audience: Science enthusiasts of all ages

  Do you ever wonder what the future holds for our solar system? The Sun will eventually become a dense, planet-sized object called a white dwarf. That means studying white dwarfs we see in the sky can provide a glimpse into our own solar system’s fate.

  The Exoasteroids participatory science project lets you help scientists discover debris disks and asteroids around white dwarfs using images taken by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope. This data can provide clues into the formation and composition of other planetary systems in the universe.

• February 18, 2025, for a live day with Eagle researchers!

  Students in K-12 are invited to participate in this FREE virtual field trip to learn about Golden Eagle Migration and Rocky Mountain raptors with researchers from Raptor View Research Institute [a1e0.engage.squarespace-mail.com] at the MPG Ranch in Florence, MT.  During the 45-minute event, students will:

  •  Understand the overall goals of the research study.
  • Learn about the research protocols.

    • Session 1: 9:00- 9:45 am
      Session 2: 10:00- 10:45 am
      Session 3: 11:00-11:45 pm
      Session 4: 1:30-2:15 pm

    • Make observations, gather data, and make inferences along with the researchers.
    • Investigate the flyways and migration patterns.
    • Participate in grade-band (Elementary, Middle, and High School) breakout rooms Q and A!
• Visit the New MSTA Website and view all the upcoming events!
  • Join MSTA's business lunch on Thursday, October 17th at 12:00pm at MFPE in Bozeman!
• Air Quality Flag Program. This program is funded by the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Flags, onsite training, and educational materials are free.  If you would like to get involved, contact mac.nollde@ontanahphc.org, (406) 763-1006.
• Bugs, bugs, bugs!  Field trips, Classroom visits, Distance Learning, all available through Missoula Butterfly House, scholarships are available.
• Coding: CS Ed Week, Computer Science for Educators-resources
• EPA Region 8 (Mountains and Plains) offers virtual presentations to the general public, teachers and students on a variety of environmental topics. Presentations can be tailored for any age group and are offered during the school week. EPA also has lesson plans, activity books, pre-recorded presentations and games available.  EPA Region 8 offers informal mentorships to young people who are interested in finding out more about environmental/conservation issues, projects and careers. Students are matched with a subject matter expert who can discuss with the students their environmental questions or career paths. Mentorships can be one-time visits, a phone call, virtual meetings or last a few months depending on the student’s needs/interests. Mentees can be of any age. Teachers or parents interested in finding out more about these offerings should contact Wendy Dew at dew.wendy@epa.govor 303-877-0428

K-5

• University of Montana spectrUM spring Break Camps: March 18 - 22, 2024 Missoula, MT. Registration is open.
• NASA Guide to Climate Change for Kids
• For Elementary grades, to support early literacy, the Montana State Library and Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks are pleased to announce a relaunch of the Ready 2 Read Goes Wild Bear Trunk program, which will provide communities throughout Montana with a unique learning opportunity grounded in outdoor education and appreciation.
• GoNoodle Take Care with PEANUTS for Elementary Students
• PBS LearningMedia: Grades: PreK-5 and Grades: 3-4

4-8

6-12

• Re: Ideas for making learning more relevant (and providing perspective on current issues)

  Teacher Leaders in Montana History Cynthia Wilondek and Dylan Huisken (former MT Teacher of the Year) led a dynamite professional development workshop a few weeks ago on "Connecting Past to Present." They created a Google Doc with links to many resources and lesson plans. I'll only highlight a few here.

  • In the 2023 case Held vs State of Montana, kids sued the state of Montana over not doing enough to prevent climate change, claiming that the state's inaction violated the Montana constitution's guarantee of a "clean and healthful environment."  You can use this as an entry into discussing Montana's 1972 Constitution.
  • Digitized newspapers are a great way to research the history of current events, for example, the closure of a local business or bridge.
  • There have been a number of recent articles on trying to document all of the students who died at Indian boarding schools and returning the remains to their communities. This obviously connects to a study of the boarding school era. 
  • Discussions of dark money in politics today tie nicely with a discussion of the Clark-Daly feud, fight for the state capitol and decision to pass the direct election of senators after William A. Clark successfully bribed his way into the U.S. Senate in 1899.
• NASA Graphing Global Temperature Trends for 5-12 
• Climate Emergency Feedback Loops, 5 short Climate Change videos with curriculum guides, as seen on PBS
• PBS LearningMedia: Grades: 6-12

9-12

• NASA’s GeneLab for High Schools (GL4HS) program offers 12 weeks of on-demand training sponsored by NASA’s Ames Research Center. GL4HS immerses students in space life sciences with a specific focus on computational biology and omics-based bioinformatics research, the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data such as genetic codes.

  Application Deadline: Thursday, May 15

  Program Dates: June 2 – Aug. 29

  Contact: arc-gl4hs@mail.nasa.gov

• The Montana Aerospace Scholars (MAS) is a two-phase program for high school students to take part in an extracurricular experience that immerses them in aerospace-related activities. MAS is offered through NASA partnerships with the Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry Lake and the Northwest Earth & Space Sciences Pathways program.
  
  Phase One is a remote portion where students will make an introduction video and complete a research essay. These assignments help students build general space technology and career knowledge while allowing them to develop skills such as problem solving, creativity, proposal writing, and critical thinking.
  
  Students who pass Phase One will be invited to the in-person experience at the MLC campus, Phase Two. They will work as a team to plan a detailed mission to either the Moon or Mars, depending on their program. Other activities provided at this residency include learning how to fly a plane, engaging in engineering challenges, partaking in aerospace-industry tours, and interacting with NASA personnel. Students will also spend time observing objects in the night sky at our state-of-the-art observatory, featuring the largest public access telescope in Montana (weather permitting).
  
  If you have any students who are interested, please encourage them to apply! This program is FREE. Applications are due by March 1st.
  
  A description of the program, a FAQ document, and the application can be found here:
  https://montanalearning.org/apollo50/ [montanalearning.org]
  
  If you or students have any questions, contact Executive Director Ryan Hannahoe at MontanaLearningCenter@gmail.com.

• Girls Who Code’s Free Virtual Summer Programs

Ready to shape your future and join an empowering sisterhood? Become a coder this summer with Girls Who Code! 

Girls Who Code’s free virtual Summer Programs empower you to build skills, community, and a professional network for your future, in the ways that work best for you. Choose your adventure with two free programs:

• Curious to create your own computer games? In our two-week Summer Immersion Program (SIP), you’ll learn how to design your own games using p5.js, a JavaScript library for creative coding. Join classmates and our dedicated Teaching Teams in live virtual classrooms hosted by industry-leading companies like MetLife, Bank of America, Logitech, and Synchrony. We’ve got three rounds to fit your schedule: June 14 to June 28, July 8 to July 19, and July 29 to August 9.
  
  SIP is for current 9th-11th grade girls and non-binary students with beginner or intermediate coding experience, including program alums. Eligible students can even apply for a $300 SIP Student Grant [t.yesware.com] and laptop and hot spot access [t.yesware.com]!

• Excited to explore the biggest topics in tech at your own pace? Our six-week Self-Paced Program offers tracks in Web Development, Cybersecurity, and – new for 2024 – Data Science + AI! From July 1 to August 9, you get to decide how and when to build your coding skills, and you can always ask questions in our Discord server or optional Student Hours.
  
  The Self-Paced Program is for current 9th-12th grade girls and non-binary students with beginner to advanced coding experience, including program alums.

• SD Pathways [solardecathlon.gov] is back this year, with more opportunities to bring a STEM in-person or virtual career talk into your high school classroom, club, or other student group. SD Pathways aligns with the following career clusters: Architecture & Construction, Information Technology, Manufacturing, and STEM fields. Sign up here to get a presenter in your classroom this Fall!

  There are a few great things about our program:

  • Students will be introduced to career and education paths they might not have known about before
  • SD Pathways also includes option pre or post activities
  • Our presenters go through training on how to work with high school students, as well as presentation slides and school visit guidance

We worked with over 1,000 students last year and are ready to work with yours too. Sign up here [forms.office.com] to get started, and then a team member will reach out to you to schedule a STEM career talk.

• NASA Future Temperature Projections Unit
• High School, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) offers free, innovative classroom products. These online learning resources form the foundation of a global civics curriculum, empowering young people with the essential knowledge, skills, and perspective to be responsible citizens, take on the challenges of global competition, and steer through partisan rhetoric and disinformation.  Review their resources that could be used in a science classroom.  For more information contact Lori Matza, lmatza@cfr.org.
• BioInteractive: High School Science Curricular Materials 

Teachers: 

• PBS LearningMedia: Techtalk Tuesday and Expanding Narratives about American History and Culture Collection

Apply here [t.yesware.com] by the early deadline, February 14, 2024 for priority consideration or apply by our general deadline, March 22, 2024. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to level up your coding skills, kickstart your future, tap into lifelong career support, and have fun along the way!
Need help? Learn more with our program flyer [t.yesware.com], webinars [t.yesware.com], or FAQs [t.yesware.com], or email us at summer@girlswhocode.com.

Conferences and Professional Learning​​​​​​

• NSTA OpenSciEd Curriculum Launch Workshops starting April 1st

• NOW Montana STEM Summer Institute (July 28*30) is accepting calls for presentation proposals until March 31, 2025

• OPEN TO ALL. Learn more and register on the WSTA Event Calendar at https://wsta.wildapricot.org/EventCalendar [wsta.wildapricot.org]

• Register for Lemelson MIT Workshops this summer:

  • Lemelson-MIT Administrators Workshop June 11 & 12, MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA

  • Lemelson-MIT Educators' Workshops, July 15 & 16, Tustin HS, Tustin, CA

  • Lemelson-MIT Educators' Workshops July 22 & 23, MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA

• National Council for Geographic Education: NCGE Around the World Peruvian Amazon opportunity

• Join us, become a member in the Montana STEM Ecosystem!

• March 7-9, 2025 Montana Environmental Education Association (MEEA) Conference : MEEA is excited to announce our March 2025 Conference! In Helena, from March 7-9th we will be gathering together to share stories, ideas, and lessons all connected to the theme of Roots of Tomorrow. We cant wait to see you! 

• March 26 - 29, 2025 National Science Teaching Association Annual Conference (Philadelphia, PA)

• April 3, 2025 Montana STEM Summit, Helena, MT

• Interested in becoming part of "Green Schools?"  Subscribe to the Dept. of Ed and choose the newsletters that will help you!

• Supercharge Your Classroom

  Supercharge Your Classroom with Montana Field Science Data is a free, self-paced course for educators that consists of five modules. Through these modules, educators will learn to incorporate datasets from authentic Montana research projects into their own classroom.  The Supercharge Your Classroom course is sponsored by Montana NSF EPSCoR and was originally taught by Montana Partnership with Regions for Excellence in STEM (MPRES) educators Chris Pavlovich and Bill Stockton through the Montana Office of Public Instruction's (OPI)  Teacher Learning Hub. 

  Getting Started:  The Supercharge Your Classroom course takes educators through research-based approaches to complete an applicable product, a unit or lesson, for their classroom. Each topic is composed of a building background knowledge portion and an inquiry portion. These steps are designed to mimic best practices in the classroom of inquiry and explicit instruction. By progressing through the modules below, educators will deepen their understanding of Montana research and better refine their end product. Simply click each module title below to access content. 

  • Module 1 - Backwards Design and Dataset Inquiry
  • Module 2 - Framing Your Dataset with NGSS
  • Module 3 - The Essence of Your Plan
  • Module 4 - Your Blueprint
  • Module 5 - Building Your Plan

  • After you have completed this course, please share your feedback and we will send you a free STEM kit for your class! If you'd like your survey responses to be anonymous, please email smrc@montana.edu to let us know you have completed it; otherwise, you can include your name, email and shipping address on the survey. Thank you!  Give us your feedback here

• Interested in teaching about Climate Change?  Climate Generation is a nonprofit providing interdisciplinary climate change educator professional development.  Register for their newsletter and learn more!

NASEM Opportunities/Information

Subscribe to the NASEM Climate Resources at the National Academies Newsletter

Subscribe to the NASEM Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

Other News:

• NEW RELEASE: Engineering Responses to Climate Change: Proceedings of a Forum

• RECORDING AVAILABLE: Climate Conversations: Biodiversity

STEM Community 

• Montana STEMEcosystem
• Montana Science Teachers Association (MSTA)
• Montana Girls STEM Collaborative
• Clarks Fork Watershed Education Program (now RIPPLE, reaching across the state)!
• Montana Afterschool Alliance
• Montana Environmental Education Association

  • Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium

• Montana Learning Center
• School Services of Montana
• MSU Science Math Resource Center
• spectrUM University of Montana
  • Newsletter Subscription
• Montana PBS Education newsletter
• Big Sky Film Institute

• AAAS Science Education

• NSTA Reports Subscription
• American Association of Chemistry Teachers

• NASA Express Subscription

• NGSS NOW Subscription

• NEED Subscription