Schatz: UH Set To Receive More Than $2.4 Million To Launch Project, Engage More Native Hawaiian Students In STEM Education

HONOLULU – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that the University of Hawai‘i (UH) will be awarded $2,419,814 over two years from the National Science Foundation. This new funding will help UH launch a new STEM learning project that seeks to connect Native Hawaiian youth ages 12-17 and their family members to STEM by channeling their cultural relationship to the environment.

“This project will give Native Hawaiian students the chance connect with the environment, learn about traditional practices, and pursue a future career in STEM,” said Senator Schatz, Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The University of Hawai‘i will partner with six community organizations across the state to develop, implement, and study educational activities that explore solutions to local environmental problems, including traditional approaches to stewardship. By engaging in these activities, youth and their families will expand their understanding of why the environment matters and what it takes to preserve and protect it.

This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. The award starts on September 1, 2021.

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