2026 Winter Check-In
Welcome to Insights & Opportunities: A Hub for Informal STEM Education! Insights & Opportunities is a twice-monthly newsletter for educators, administrators, legislators, and advocates who recognize the importance of informal STEM learning.
This newsletter is brought to you by me, Sarah Dunifon, and my team at Improved Insights. I’m a long-time STEM educator, researcher, and equity advocate. Along with my team, I now work on cutting-edge informal STEM learning research and evaluation.
Each edition of this newsletter offers exciting insights, resources, and opportunities for informal STEM learning professionals, including funding, jobs, professional development, informal STEM learning research, evaluation tips and resources, and so much more! We hope you find it valuable. Now, let’s get started.
2026 Winter Check-In
Instead of a feature this issue, we’d like to get some feedback from you! Please check out the following poll and let us know your thoughts.
60-Second Suggestions
Here are a few of our favorite things this month, usually pertaining to informal STEM education and evaluation, but occasionally some fun personal stuff, too.
This recently-published article, a culmination of a multi-year endeavor by the eeWORKS initiative, provides evidence-based guidance to the environmental education field on what makes environmental education programs work and why. Through conducting eight systematic reviews of programs across diverse contexts, researchers identified common characteristics of effective programs.
In its previous funding cycle, NASA awarded over $5 million to 29 institutions to expand and strengthen informal STEM education through its TEAM II awards. Through these grants, organizations collaborated with libraries, after-school programs, and youth-serving groups to provide learning opportunities and engage with communities at all age levels. New TEAM II funding opportunities will be released in Fiscal Year 2026 Q3.
This free activity guide for schools, camps, and other settings that serve students K-12 aims to help groups move closer to Zero Waste in creative and low-cost ways. The guide provides practical examples of waste-reduction, recycling, and composting activities, along with motivations and rewards, to help groups reduce their impact on the environment.
Opportunities
Check out these new opportunities for the informal STEM learning community.
Funding:
Annual Grant Program, New Mexico Children’s Foundation, up to $10,000. Nonprofit organizations with annual revenues less than $400,000 in New Mexico are invited to apply for funding to support programs for children in New Mexico’s most underserved settings. Grant priority will be given to rural community programs that address unmet needs for children 18 or younger. Applications are due March 31, 2026.
Environmental Education (EE) Grants, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), variable. U.S.-based nonprofits, local education agencies, colleges and universities, and others are invited to apply for funding to support environmental education projects that promote environmental awareness and stewardship and help provide people with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the environment. Applications are due March 3, 2026.
UWorld Cares Community Grants, UWorld, variable. Nonprofit organizations in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant counties) are invited to apply for funding. Grants will be directed toward programs that support middle and high school education, with a special emphasis on STEM. Applications are due March 31, 2026.
YLACES Grants, Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists (YLACES), up to $5,000. U.S. environmental educators and organizations may apply for grants for initiatives to engage students in the environmental research and inquiry process. Funds are intended to help students overcome barriers to progressing from taking environmental observations to doing environmental research. Applications are due March 31, 2026.
Youth Service Improvement Grants, William T. Grant Foundation, $25,000. Small nonprofit organizations serving youth ages 5 to 25 in the five boroughs of New York City are invited to apply for grants. Funding will be aimed at strengthening existing services by helping youth-serving nonprofit organizations address challenges or remedy problems at the point of service, where staff and youth interact. Areas for improvement may include: inadequate curriculum, gaps in the service skills of frontline staff, and limitations in current services that adversely affect participant experiences. Applications are due April 1, 2026.
Jobs and Fellowships:
CEO, Modesto Children’s Museum (Modesto, CA), $110,000. The CEO will provide effective, forward-thinking leadership in alignment with the organization’s vision and strategic direction. They will oversee and manage all aspects of the Museum’s operations, staff, volunteer relations, external relations, exhibits, and educational programming. They will partner with the board of directors to develop the strategic plan, oversee community engagement, and provide guidance in the development of educational programming. Applications are due May 2, 2026.
College Internship Program, Santa Fe Botanical Garden (Santa Fe, NM), $5,000 stipend. College interns will experience multiple aspects of Garden operations, working alongside staff members to assist with hands-on education programs and informal visitor engagement, support site improvements and seasonal garden projects, and participate in a focused special project aligned with their academic interests. Internships are eight weeks, and applications are due May 15, 2026.
Community Engagement Coordinator, Hudson River Park (New York, NY), $55,000. The Community Engagement Coordinator will serve as a connecting point between Hudson River Park and its surrounding diverse communities. They will implement inclusive and mission-driven outreach, build and strengthen connections with partners, and serve as key liason to community partners.
Education Manager, Butterfly Pavilion (Westminster, CO), $58,000. The Education Manager will oversee daily operations and team development for the Education Department. They will provide strategic leadership and plan and implement educational programs, including school programs, camps, field trips, and afterschool programs.
Senior Director, EDULab (Education & Community Engagement), National Geographic Society (NGS) (hybrid - Washington, D.C.), $156,000.The Senior Director, EDULab will lead the team, working with the Education & Community Engagement (ECE) division to support NGS Explorer-led and Explorer-centered programs. They will support ECE content strategy, ideate and collaborate to develop Explorer-focused resources, and ensure ECE opportunities are integrated into other NGS divisions.
Professional Development:
Inspire Momentum, STEM Next, June 15-17, 2026 (Orlando, FL). Join STEM Next for Inspire Momentum, a national gathering for afterschool innovators. Leaders and partners will convene June 15-17, 2026 in Orlando, FL, to examine the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of STEM learning beyond the school day.
NAAEE 2026: Imagine If…, North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), October 6-9, 2026 (Portland, OR). NAAEE is seeking proposals for presentations for its 55th annual conference. The conference will be held in Portland, OR, October 6-9,2026. NAAEE is inviting proposals that speak to the overall theme, “Imagine If...” and that spark imagination and action, broaden participation and belonging, elevate promising and proven practices, and inspire creativity and leadership. Proposal submissions are due April 10, 2026.
Nature-Based Early Learning Conference, Natural Start Alliance, June 24-27, 2026 (San Antonio, TX). Join the Natural Start Alliance for its annual Nature-Based Early Learning Conference. Nature-based early childhood education professionals will gather in San Antonio, TX, June 24-27, 2026, to explore strategies, report on new and relevant research, share best practices, and examine other topics related to the field.
Nature Education Online Course, Cornell University Civic Ecology Lab, March 2-29, 2026 (virtual). Cornell University is offering a four-week online nature education course from March 2-29, 2026. During the course, participants will learn about multiple nature education approaches, identify experiences and outcomes for target learners, design a nature education lesson plan, engage in online discussions with instructors and peers, and submit a final project. Those who complete the course will receive certification documenting 25 professional development hours.
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