Informal STEM Education Fellowship Directory
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.Â
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.
Informal STEM Education Fellowship Directory
We’ve been building various tools and resources for the informal STEM education (ISE) community (remember our A.I. Tools for ISE Evaluation?).
Over the past month, we’ve developed a list of fellowships for folks in informal STEM education that have previously been featured in the newsletter, along with several others that we felt represented great possibilities for those in our community. Check them out on this compiled Informal STEM Education Fellowship Directory!Â
When putting this list together, our goal was to provide an easily accessible, centralized place for folks in our field to see what fellowships are available to them. We’ve intentionally aimed to represent a wide variety of opportunities that span the range of fields and levels of expertise. You will see many postgraduate fellowships on this list, but also a number that would be great for graduate students, nonprofit employees, museum staff, and others.Â
The ISE field is niche, and finding opportunities for our community can be a struggle, especially for folks new to the space. We hope this directory allows you to see the wide range of opportunities available to ISE folks. If you end up applying to something, let us know! We’d love to hear if this resource helped you.Â
To read the full article, check it out in our Insights.
60-Second Suggestions
Here are a few of my favorite things this month, usually pertaining to informal STEM education and evaluation, but occasionally some fun personal stuff, too.
This month, the Afterschool Alliance published workforce policy recommendations. These recommendations address a wide range of policy areas for organizations in the afterschool education field aimed at helping more young people access quality afterschool and summer programming. Recommendations include meaningful professional development, supporting mentorship opportunities, and ensuring that youth and provider voices are at the decision-making tables.  Â
BMC Ecology and Evolution, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal focused on ecological and evolutionary biology, has opened a call for paper submissions to their Collection on Citizen science in ecological research. The call for submissions will be open through December 2024.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a novel by Gabrielle Zevin that follows two video game designers through their lives and careers. As a fictional portrayal of the art and science of video game design, I found it fun to explore what that career path and work look like. Gamers will love the references to classics like Oregon Trail and seeing how game design progressed through the advent of the Internet.
OpportunitiesÂ
Check out these new opportunities for the informal STEM learning community.
Funding:
Community Project Funding, FY25 Congressional Funding Opportunity, $50,000-$11 million. Community Project Funding allows members of Congress to incorporate projects from their districts and states directly into the federal budget. Each member will designate a handful of local, mostly capital projects vetted and selected by their offices. Eligible groups include nonprofits, tribal authorities, governmental entities, and regional administrations. Funding amounts range from $50,000 to $11 million, and funding deadlines vary by office.
Research Grants on Reducing Inequality, William T. Grant Foundation, $25,000-$600,000. Grants will be awarded to support research that builds, tests, or increases understanding of programs and practices that reduce inequality in academic, social, behavioral, and economic outcomes of those ages 5 to 25. Specific research interests include how various youth-serving programs (including out-of-school time education) affect long-term outcomes for students. Applications are due May 1, 2024.
STEM Action Grants, Society For Science, $5,000. Nonprofit organizations that support community-based STEM projects and promote public engagement in scientific research are invited to submit for funding. Applications are due May 1, 2024.
STEM Education and Workforce Development Funding, International Space Station National Laboratory, $120,000-$150,000. Research funding is available to U.S.-based institutions (academic, commercial, government, nonprofit) with a vested interest in workforce development and STEM education. Proposals must seek to create or expand education programs, projects, or public-private partnerships that leverage the space station or space-based research to engage post-secondary students, enhance K-12 learning, or provide professional development experiences for formal and informal educators. Concept summaries are due April 24, 2024, with full proposals due July 1, 2024.
Jobs and Fellowships:
Assistant Director of Education, Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden (Oklahoma City, OK), $62,000. The Assistant Director of Education will develop and implement innovative educational programs, collaborating closely with the Education Director. Other responsibilities include operational management, staff supervision, and program oversight. Applications are due April 2, 2024.
Community Scientist, BioBus, Inc. (New York, NY), $64,000. The Community Scientist will staff and teach Mobile Laboratory, BioBase community lab, after-school and internship programs, including introductory science lab classes and outside-of-school-time advanced lab programs.Â
Education Outreach Coordinator, California Department of Water Resources (Sacramento, CA), $67,000. The Education Outreach Coordinator will be responsible for all tasks involving education programming, including developing K-12 educational resources, managing contracts, building partnerships, providing leadership to a statewide network of water education professionals, and attending and presenting at youth education events. Applications are due April 5, 2024.
Museum Educator, Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Cleveland, OH), $41,000. The Museum Educator will teach in-house Museum programs to pre-K to 12th-grade students, aid in the development, creation, and implementation of curricular materials and program activities, and assist the education department as needed. Â
Nature Education Director, Wild Bear Nature Center (Nederland, CO), $60,000. The Nature Education Director will develop, implement, and evaluate all Wild Bear Nature Center formal and informal educational programs. The Director will also set education goals, monitor program enrollment, and maintain education staff. Applications are due April 19, 2024.
Professional Development:
2024 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, May 16-19, 2024 (Baltimore, MD). The AAM Annual Meeting will bring together 5,000+ attendees from museums of all types and sizes. Programming will be divided into four tracks that will offer knowledge, insights, and opportunities for collaboration: Personal, Organizational, Community, and Society.
Call for Proposals, 2024 Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) Summit, September 9-13, 2024 (Memphis, TN). The 2024 ANCA Annual Summit is now accepting program proposals. Program types include workshops and facilitated discussions. Proposals are due May 27, 2024.
Call for Proposals, Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) Annual Meeting, October 8-10, 2024 (Philadelphia, PA). MAAM is seeking session proposals for their 2024 conference. The conference theme is Optimism, Outrage, & Outcomes, and will allow museums to "come together and share how they work together to build creative, optimistic solutions and outcomes to address challenges." Session proposals should be submitted by May 31, 2024.
Call for Proposals, North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Conference 2024: Building Bridges (Pittsburgh, PA). NAAEE is seeking proposals for presentations for their 53rd annual conference. Drawing inspiration from the conference location, Pittsburgh, PA, the conference theme is Building Bridges. "We seek to spotlight environmental educators as natural bridge builders. Focused on bridging gaps across borders, disciplines, and ideas, our event aims to foster mutual understanding and explore how to discover common ground." Proposals should be submitted by April 26, 2024.
IRB Basics: An Introduction to IRBs in Informal STEM Education, REVISE Center (Virtual). The REVISE Center will host an informational webinar on Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and their role in Informal STEM education work. "Whether you are new to research or seeking a comprehensive IRB refresher, [this webinar] is designed to enhance your understanding of ethical human subject research in ISE initiatives." The webinar will take place on April 29, 2024, at 2:00 PM EDT.
The Wonders of Water: Practical Ideas and Resources for Educators, The Outdoor Learning Store (Virtual). Join the Outdoor Learning Virtual Workshop Seasonal Series for their upcoming one-hour collaborative webinar for all types of educators that features all things water education. The webinar will take place on April 16, 2024, at 4:00 PM PDT/7:00 PM EDT.
Thanks for tuning in to this edition of Insights and Opportunities. While you’re waiting for the next edition, tell your friends! We appreciate you sending along a blog post you enjoyed, a job opportunity you think a friend should apply for, and resources you found valuable. Sharing this newsletter is the best way to support this work. Until next time - thanks!Â
