2023 STEM Grant Recipients
MINNDEPENDENT awarded STEM grants totaling more than $48,000 to 15 member schools for projects to be implemented during the 2022-2023 school year.
INNOVATION GRANTS
Annunciation School
Carondelet Catholic School
Cretin-Derham Hall
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School – Twin Cities
Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School
Hill-Murray School
Holy Trinity Catholic School (Pierz)
Saint John’s Preparatory School
St. Pascal Regional Catholic School
West Lutheran High School
STARTER GRANTS
SUSTAINABILITY GRANTS
INNOVATION GRANTS
Annuncation School
Bolting into STEM with Sphero (Grades 6 – 8)
Thanks to MINNDEPENDENT, we have successfully implemented 3D printing & design and Lego Spike Prime robotics into our STEM program. The addition of Sphero BOLTs would greatly enhance coding opportunities providing critical skills that include problem solving, creativity and communication. Minnesota is behind other states in Computer Science instruction, and we believe strong middle school exposure to coding may mean more high schools will need to offer it. Sphero BOLTs are differentia “grab and go” model that allows more time to focus on coding and can be extended to math topics including measurements, angles, and shapes. We would utilize the Sphero BOLTs in the STEM classes to establish a foundation of block coding that would occur before the Lego Spike Prime kits are introduced. Also, Sphero BOLTs allow for differentiation of students’ learning needs within the STEM curriculum, either with an increased challenge or sticking to the basics. Teachers will also have access to online training that is free of charge and will provide a solid foundation for using the Sphero BOLTs.
Carondelet Catholic School
Hydroponics Garden Learning Lab (Grades 5 – 8)
We see a need for more project-based learning in 7th grade Life Science throughout the year. Hydroponics is a terrific way for the students to learn the standards and experience different ways food can be grown, while doing something great for our community. We will be partnering with Waite House, a food shelf in the Phillips neighborhood, to harvest and provide fresh produce periodically throughout the school year. Our 8th graders will also have a stake in this as well to help deliver the food and link our project with a community sponsor. This project will also connect our 5th graders to their ELA learning as well as with a unit of study of gardening in urban areas. The 7th graders will be given the opportunity to teach the 5th graders about their learning.
Cretin-Derham Hall
Center for Digital Story (Grades 9 – 12)
Engineering and technology are present in every part of our life. It is more crucial than ever for everyone to have a solid understanding of technology and engineering as the world becomes more complex. People must be aware of how technology affects their daily lives, society, and the environment, as well as how to use and create new technological systems, devices, and methods to further human potential. All these comprehensions are crucial components of technological and engineering literacy. Since the submission of our letter of intent, the broader awareness of AI in our communication has exploded. ChatGPT was used to develop some of the content for this grant. We live in an era where we must understand the power of technology and our relationship with it. Thomas Friedman coined the term STEMpathy – and we plan to build our program around building bridge between human and technical skills. To attract and engage students who might not otherwise be interested in STEM-related occupations or educational programs, we would like to establish a Center for Digital Storytelling. Students will be given the opportunity to use digital recording and video editing tools to produce compelling podcasts, documentaries, websites, and presentations that hone professional communication skills. Participants can come from traditional science, technology, and math classes as well as students who may not consider themselves tech-savvy or interested in traditional STEM fields.
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School-Twin Cities
Expansion of Ken Melrose Technology Lab (Grades 9-12)
The MINNDEPENDENT Grant Program will provide support for Cristo Rey to purchase a welding and grinding table and a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) mill for the Ken Melrose Technology Lab (M-Lab), supporting nearly 450 students (grades 9-12) in their STEM learning each year. By introducing students to industry-related STEM learning experiences, Cristo Rey provides students with the chance to gain early exposure to a future career in welding and metal work, preparing for further education in STEM. Funding will also allow Cristo Rey faculty and staff to develop course curriculums integrating use of the M-lab at least once in the semester to give each student the chance to creatively fulfill course requirements through the use of hands-on STEM learning. The Technology Lab expands the way all Cristo Rey courses, such as English, Art, Health, and World History, are taught, providing students with the opportunity to present their knowledge in creative and innovative ways.
Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School
Reenergizing our Alternative Energy Curriculum (Grades 3 – 8)
The Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School would like to implement more hands-on learning and STEAM engagement in our 3rd – 8th grade science classrooms as we move towards full implementation of the NGSS standards. To achieve this goal, Heilicher plans to develop an engaging, hands-on energy unit with an emphasis on the use of coding, robotics, and engineering design. We intend to develop lessons that will have students: experiment with converting energy between different power sources; examine the school and building’s use of energy and generate recommendations on ways to conserve energy; compare different types of energy solutions; explore clean energy concepts; and engineer models of alternative energy sources and solutions, such as wind turbines, rotating solar panels, and energy-efficient buildings. Investigating energy in this manner should not only expand student knowledge and understanding of this important sustainable development goal but will improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills. We are excited to have students apply their science knowledge to address real-world problems.
Hill-Murray School
Hill-Murray VR Lab Grades (6 – 12)
Hill-Murray is proposing to create a Virtual Reality (VR) lab. VR offers new and exciting ways for students to both engage in and demonstrate their learning. Our team envisions a setup of 8 to 12 VR stations, allowing entire classes to participate in immersive experiences that engage students in a cutting-edge medium. We intend to create a VR Lab that teachers and students will use across departments for a wide variety of applications. Our proposed VR lab will be a valuable tool for helping our teachers create transformational experiences that will stick with our students beyond graduation. VR can literally give students new perspectives they could not otherwise see, but it will also allow us to give students voice and choice in the classroom in ways we cannot with traditional media. In addition to using VR applications to enhance learning, we will also incorporate the design and coding of VR games into our computer science, engineering, and after-school/summer programs. The VR Lab will give students of all ages new ways to explore and interact with 3D models, virtual worlds, and more.
Holy Trinity Catholic School (Pierz)
Building the Future, One Robot at a Time (Grades 5 – 6)
Holy Trinity would like to offer students the opportunity for hands-on lessons with guided explorations that encourage collaboration, problem-solving and creativity through VEX IQ Robotics. Students will be introduced to robotics in fifth grade, where they will learn to build and program their robot through VEX IQ lessons and high school peer mentorships. Students continue their growth in sixth grade where they will need to identify a problem and program their robot to perform a task while telling a story they create, making the robot a character in their story. We would like to use the Innovation Grant to invest in a robotics curriculum that will allow our students to learn coding and understand the use of robots in today’s world. These lessons are standards-aligned and do provide a variety of learning experiences. Our local high school robotics team uses VEX robotics, and this familiarity will benefit all as they mentor our fifth and sixth grade students a few times throughout the year. Our hope is that this will build excellent peer relationships and allow students to challenge themselves in the areas of STREAM.
Saint John’s Preparatory School
Outdoor Classroom (Grades 6 – 12)
Saint John’s Preparatory School values the whole student. While we currently hold classes in many of our outdoor spaces, we do not have a formal outdoor classroom to promote comfortable and attentive learning. We do not have dry spaces with seating and desks. We have a need for an outdoor space that makes this possible. Many studies have proven exposure to nature can improve cognition and emotional wellbeing (resources available upon request). Studying outdoors has been shown to help students process and retain academic content as well as help with mental health. Outdoor education has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve student attendance. A green classroom could have a positive effect on our students and guests as we emerge from a challenging pandemic. The students working on this project are in grades 9-12. The timber frame structure will be built and put together by students and parents for the use of the entire community.
St. Pascal Regional Catholic School
ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY! (Grades 3 – 6)
With a MINNDEPENT STEM Grant, St. Pascal’s plans to purchase quality materials to help us address the engineering standards for grades 3-6. This would include two Engineering is Elementary science kits which include well-developed lesson plans revolving around how engineers go about solving real problems. I am impressed that NASA helped develop the unit called Rockets and Rovers where students design their own rockets and rovers. The other engineering kit revolves around students designing a water filtration system to assist with cleaning pond water. The Engineering is Elementary program is well known and research based, and classroom-tested – empowering children to become lifelong STEM learners and passionate problem solvers. It also encourages all students, including underrepresented groups, to think like and see themselves as engineers.
West Lutheran High School
Project Lead the Way and First Robotics Integration (Grades 9 – 12)
Purchasing a unified robotics system will maximize the equipment use and remove technical barriers to student learning. Students looking to learn about STEM and robotics during the school day will be able to learn in a classroom setting with the same equipment that the after-school club uses. Students looking for robotics as an afterschool activity will be able learn about STEM and robotics outside of the school day with the same system that is used during the school day. Regardless of the time and location that the students learn about robotic systems, the base understanding and unified approach will remove learning barriers needed to be successful in robotics. With experience coming from one location, it is the goal of this project to encourage students to try the other to deepen their STEM and robotics knowledge.
STARTER GRANTS
Our Lady of Grace Catholic School
Elementary Introduction to Coding (Grades K – 2)
We would like to use this grant to create more hands-on experiences in our technology classes. This would affect 275 students in kindergarten through second grade. By getting Bee-Bots we would be able to deliver lessons that put coding right in front of students and not hidden on a screen. We would be able to achieve some of our standards in a more creative way. We will be working on problem solving and critical thinking while we use Bee-Bots. The students would get to experience teamwork and collaboration while focusing on multiple standards.
St. Jerome School
Insides-Outsides: Anatomy Models and Dissection Specimens (Grades 2 – 3, 5 – 8)
Seven bookshelves in the St. Jerome Forge are filled with objects that students can touch, manipulate, and explore. These shelves are meant to spark curiosity and promote language growth among our English Language Learners (about 70 percent of our students). Plus, hands on learning helps develop critical thinking and analytical skills which will continue to be beneficial throughout their lives. Preschool students through grade 8 students have access and/or classes in The Forge and will use the models. Grades 2-3, 5-8 students have more comprehensive science classes in The Forge and will use both the models and dissection specimens.
St. John Paul II Catholic School
Urban Gardens (Grades PK – 8)
St. John Paul II Catholic School serves 200 scholars in grades PK-8 in Northeast Minneapolis. Our scholars (76% of English Language Learners, 88% students of color, 72% free/reduced lunch) desire hands-on STEM experiences to understand more about our world. Most of our scholars need to build up their prior knowledge so benefit from experiential learning to access academic content. With little green space in the city, we seek to create garden beds that will provide annual learning opportunities from planting and sprouting to the reward of eating healthy, locally sourced foods. We began an after-school conservation club for our Middle School scholars this year. After learning about harmful run-off, waste, and the need for environmental stewardship, they wanted to take action! Through their enthusiasm and poster campaigns, they are motivating the rest of our school to learn more. Our JPII teachers are excited to participate in this energy. With help from the STEM grant, our scholars will research, build, and care for a pollinator garden, a butterfly garden, a sensory garden, and fruit/vegetable plots. These gardens will provide an outdoor learning environment to “cultivate” the “seeds” of learning biology through STEM lessons and activities connected to academic standards.
SUSTAINABILITY GRANTS
Hand in Hand Christian Montessori (Roseville)
Woodland Restoration Continuation (Grades 1 – 6)
Woodland restoration continues on our property consisting of our urban woods and the pond. As students grow in their knowledge, love, and care for the woodland, we continue to reach a place where the woodland itself is sustainable. We plan to continue this program, as there is still 1/3 of the woodland that is neglected and unusable for education. We will have family and community events to address the removal of the last third portion of mature, invasive species. The students and families will continue ongoing maintenance of removal of non-native, invasive regrowth. We will need to aggressively plant native species to prevent unwanted regrowth. The sense of ownership of even one tree in the woods is important for students. The younger students will learn and develop their sense of wonder. Older students will continue to exercise their engineering and botany skills as they experience what works and what does not. All students will be guided to recognize the Creator of it all.
Sacred Heart School (East Grand Forks)
Drone Sustainability Grant (Grade 10)
This Sustainability Grant is to provide 10th grade STEM students with an extra drone for our drone curriculum we received through a previous MINNDEPENDENT grant. This has been a successful curriculum, engaging students and providing them with in-demand STEM skills. In this curriculum, students learn about the STEM principles of drones while constructing, configuring, and troubleshooting a drone and its systems so it is operable. Next, students learn how to safely prepare a drone for flight and pilot it in our nearby football field, using various drone maneuvers learned from a flight simulator. Students learn about the drone industry and STEM careers related to what they have learned. Currently, our school only has two drones. This means students must work in groups where they can choose to not participate as much as they should and have their peers do the work. Even with a group of four, students participate less and let peers do the work. Another drone would help to reduce group size and thus increase engagement and it would also allow for more students to take the class.