The White House budget request, STEM education, research, and afterschool

Afterschool Snack

President Joe Biden has unveiled his FY 2024 budget request. The news is mixed for both afterschool and STEM education. The plan seeks increases across most science agencies and the Department of Education, and retains prior requests’ emphasis on research related to emerging technologies and climate change. It also prioritizes major initiatives such as the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA–H). And in a new move, it would significantly expand funding for fusion energy technology development.

The budget request falls short of the goals set out in last year’s CHIPS and Science Act. It misses the funding target the act set for NSF by $4.3 billion and for the Department of Energy Office of Science by almost $750 million. The budget also asks Congress to fund the regional technology hub program the act authorized in the Commerce Department through a special $4 billion multiyear appropriation, well below the act’s $10 billion target.

At the Department of Education, the White House hopes to build on its successful efforts to grow Title I funding, which support STEM programming nationwide. Overall, the FY 2024 budget requests $90 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education, a $10.8 billion or 13.6 percent increase from the fiscal year 2023 enacted level. The request proposes $20.5 billion for Title I “to close opportunity and achievement gaps in our nation’s schools and help schools sustain programs that support students' academic recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.” The proposal represents a $2.2 billion increase above FY 2023. As for other programs important to the STEM and afterschool communities, the plan would invest $1.405 billion for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program—the Every Student Succeeds Act’s main STEM education program.

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STEMFINITY'S $10,000 AFTERSCHOOL/SUMMER STEM GIVEAWAY!

To show our appreciation to the thousands of Afterschool & Summer Programs nationwide that are making STEM/STEAM more accessible, STEMfinity is giving away the following STEM Resources to 8 Lucky Winners!

STEMfinity eSports Gaming Bundle (Retail Value $1,350)
Drone Legends - STEM Fundamentals Drone Bundle (Retail Value $5,500)
STEM Sports® - Baseball Program Kit (Retail Value $1,275)
LEGO® Education Spike Prime Set (Retail Value $400)
Merge Edu Cube & One Year Subscription (Retail Value $100)
Databot 2.0 (Retail Value $190)
Kubo Coding Starter Kit (Retail Value $215)
Strawbees STEAM Classroom (Retail Value $600)

Please share the following link with your co-workers to increase the odds of winning.

ENTER HERE!

GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

Make Ice Cream in a Bag

Introduction

Have you ever made ice cream? It can be a lot of fun, and you end up with a tasty frozen treat! There is actually a lot of interesting chemistry that goes on behind making ice cream. For example, think about how you start out with refrigerated (or room-temperature) ingredients and then need to cool them down to turn them turn into ice cream. How do the ingredients change during this process? How important do you think it is that they are cooled to a certain temperature? In this science activity, you will make your own ice cream in a bag and explore the best way to chill the ingredients to make them become a creamy delicious treat!

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Explore Mars: A Mars Rover Game

Always wanted to cruise around on the surface of another planet? Well, you’re in luck! In Explore Mars, you will be driving a rover on Mars and collecting information about Martian rocks.

First, you will choose a rock to investigate. Then, you’ll send a sequence of commands telling the rover how to get to that rock. Don’t forget to include the command to analyze the rock! This information will then be sent back to scientists on Earth.

You will earn points every time you successfully analyze a new Martian rock. If you want a high score, plan carefully. Some rocks are worth many more points than others!

Click on the image above to play the game and learn more!

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