For Immediate Release
Contact: Chris Caldwell
Christopher.Caldwell@orcc.doe.gov
(804) 658-8367
UCOR now accepting STEM education mini-grant applications
Claxton Elementary students building Tubelox racing cars
Oak Ridge, Tenn., Feb. 6, 2023 – Attention East Tennessee teachers: United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) is accepting applications for our science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Education Mini-Grants through Monday, February 27. Our grant awards are open to K-12 educators in nine East Tennessee counties to support a STEM project or related arts project with a STEM aspect. You can apply for up to $1,500 for a STEM or STEM-related project in your classroom, team, 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 to apply. This year marks the 12th consecutive year that UCOR has awarded mini-grants. In 2022, 38 mini-grants were awarded to teachers in 28 schools. The projects funded by those awards include:
- Apply to Fly, Claxton Elementary School, Anderson Co.
- Under-desk Exercise Bikes, Bearden High School, Knox Co.
- Hidden Figures—Coding Across the Curriculum, Midway Middle School, Roane Co.
- Building Learners to Leaders, Horace Maynard Middle School, Union Co.
Claxton Elementary students put finishing touches on Tubelox racing car
- Chicken Egg Incubating Project, Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School
The full list of 2022 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
The program does not limit the number of submissions a school may submit.
Applications should focus on STEM relevance. In addition to traditional STEM projects, a related arts teacher might apply for a grant for
students to explore the lives of scientists, mathematicians, etc., 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 5 p.m. on February 27, 2023. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. Winners will be notified no later than April 6, 2023.
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 is the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s lead environmental cleanup contractor. The company is a partnership between Amentum, Jacobs, and Honeywell. The company’s 2,100+ 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 2023-3
DOWNLOAD ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE
DOWNLOAD Photo: Claxton 1 (Two Claxton Elementary students building Tubelox car)
DOWNLOAD Photo: Claxton 2 (Three Claxton Elementary students put finishing touches on Tubelox car)
VIDEO CLIP: Claxton Tubelox racing (clip of students racing their Tubelox cars in the Claxton Elementary gym)
