Next Gen STEM’s Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) program is pleased to announce an upcoming FY2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that will expand the current program from a two-tier to a three-tier system by adding a mid-level funding tier. 

NASA’s vision for TEAM II is to enhance the capability of informal education institutions to host NASA-based learning activities while increasing the institutions’ capacity to bring NASA resources to students. The agency has selected four institutions to receive approximately $3.2 million in cooperative agreements for projects they will implement during the next three to four years.

For some students, the concept of space exploration can feel light-years away. Fortunately, informal education institutions such as science museums, planetariums, libraries, and others help bring the excitement of spaceflight closer to home. This Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re highlighting the important role of informal education in inspiring students who may otherwise have few opportunities to engage with NASA STEM.

NASA is awarding more than $3.8 million to 21 museums, science centers, and other informal education institutions for projects designed to bring the excitement of space science to communities across the nation and broaden student participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

NASA needs a diverse workforce to accomplish the nation’s ambitious goals of returning humans to the Moon through the Artemis missions, exploring deep space, and continuing to work at the forefront of science and technology. Though NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM), the agency proactively engages groups who have historically had fewer opportunities to participate in STEM activities and are underrepresented in the current STEM workforce.

Local students will have an opportunity to hear from NASA astronauts and learn more about Artemis lunar exploration, in an event hosted at 11 a.m. EDT Thursday, March 30, at the Martin Luther King Library in Washington.

Challenger Learning Center of Maine kicked off February by bringing hands-on STEM activities to students at Whiting Village School in Whiting, Maine. A rural town in the northeast portion of the state with a population of just 481 residents. Challenger Maine’s goal was for the Maine to Mars STEM Night to spark students’ interest in science, and hopefully a STEM career.