For Immediate Release
Contact:
Chris Caldwell
Christopher.Caldwell@orcc.doe.gov
(804) 658-8367
Teachers encouraged to apply for UCOR STEM education financial support
Oak Ridge, Tenn., February 18, 2025 – United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) today opened its application period for East Tennessee teachers to apply for financial support for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) projects. Teachers can apply for UCOR STEM education mini-grants through Friday, March 14. These UCOR-funded awards are open to K-12 educators in nine East Tennessee counties to support STEM projects or related arts projects with STEM aspects. Teachers can apply for up to $1,500 for each STEM or STEM-related project in the classroom or school.
Teachers and schools in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union counties (including city systems in those counties) are eligible. This year marks the 14th consecutive year that UCOR has awarded mini-grants. In 2024, UCOR awarded 41 mini-grants totaling $45,000 to teachers in 29 schools.
One of the funded grants was “VR in the classroom – bringing science to life” at Wynn Habersham Elementary School in Campbell County. Teacher Tiffany Logsdon’s class has been able to experience several museums on the VR, including one with intact fossils where students can “walk” around and explore dinosaurs.
“I teach in an incredibly rural area and most students have never experienced any kind of virtual reality.” Logsdon said. “It has been so much fun watching them experience learning in such a fun and engaging way!”
The full list of 2024 awards is available on the UCOR website.
Grants are available in three levels:
- Single classroom single classroom: $750
- Multiple classrooms: $1,000
- Entire school: $1,500
Schools can submit multiple applications. All applications should focus on STEM relevance. In addition to traditional STEM projects, a related arts teacher might apply for a grant for students to read about the lives of scientists or for materials to develop problem-solving or other critical thinking skills. The online application, along with information about proposal and evaluation criteria, is available at ucor.com/minigrants.
UCOR will accept applications online until midnight on Friday, March 14, 2025. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. Winners will be notified by April 30, 2025.
For more information about the UCOR Education Mini-Grants Program, contact Shannon Potter, UCOR Communications, at (865) 576-7476 or ucorminigrants@orcc.doe.gov.
UCOR, an Amentum-led partnership with Honeywell, is the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s lead environmental cleanup contractor. The company’s 2,200+ workers are dedicated to safely reducing environmental risk on the Oak Ridge Reservation while helping DOE’s Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration continue their important missions. Learn more about the company at UCOR.com.
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UCOR NR 2025-01
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DOWNLOAD Photos: VR_Classroom_1.jpg; VR_Classroom_2.jpg; VR_Classroom_3.jpg
Photo caption: Wynn Habersham Elementary School students explore museums as part of their “VR in the classroom – bringing Science to life” project.
