Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR offers mini-grants to teachers for STEM projects

The Oak Ridger
·2 min read

United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) is accepting applications for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Education Mini-Grants through Feb. 27.

First-grade students at Claxton Elementary School use “TubeLox” building materials purchased with UCOR mini-grants award funds to study the engineering process of designing a car.
First-grade students at Claxton Elementary School use “TubeLox” building materials purchased with UCOR mini-grants award funds to study the engineering process of designing a car.

The 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. Teachers can apply for up to $1,500 for a STEM or STEM-related project in their classroom, team, or school, according to a UCOR news release.

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 County

First-grade students at Claxton Elementary School use “TubeLox” building materials purchased with UCOR mini-grants award funds to study the engineering process of designing a car.
First-grade students at Claxton Elementary School use “TubeLox” building materials purchased with UCOR mini-grants award funds to study the engineering process of designing a car.

  • Under-desk Exercise Bikes, Bearden High School, Knox County

  • Hidden Figures - Coding Across the Curriculum, Midway Middle School, Roane County

  • Building Learners to Leaders, Horace Maynard Middle School, Union County

  • 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, $750; multiple classrooms, $1,000; and 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. Feb. 27. Winners will be notified no later than April 6.

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 lead environmental cleanup contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR offers mini-grants to teachers for STEM projects