Minnesota Academy Of Science

TO ADVANCE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH STEM IN MINNESOTA BY CONNECTING MINNESOTANS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS WITH RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN STEM LEARNING, RESEARCH, AND COMMUNICATION .

THE FOSTERING OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES IN STEM EDUCATION FORSE PROGRAM SUPPORTS BOTH FORMAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH STEM EDUCATION IN HIGHLY DIVERSE SCHOOLS AND INFORMAL STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS FROM POPULATIONS UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM FIELDS. FORSE ACTIVITIES MEET THE IDENTIFIED NEEDS OF EACH EDUCATIONAL PARTNER SITE, PROVIDE RESOURCES AND SUPPORT TO TEACHERS, AND INCREASE STUDENT SELF-CONFIDENCE, INTEREST, AND KNOWLEDGE OF CAREERS RELATED TO STEM. THIS YEAR, MAS EXPANDED FORSE TO IMPACT AT FOUR TIMES THE NUMBER OF EDUCATIONAL SITES AND STUDENTS SERVED OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR, REACHING AN ESTIMATED 12 EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS, 24 SITES, AND 1,500 STUDENTS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE STUDENTS SERVED IDENTIFY AS BLACK/AFRICAN/AFRICAN-AMERICAN, LATINX/HISPANIC, INDIGENOUS/NATIVE AMERICAN, HMONG, OR MULTI-RACIAL AND APPROXIMATELY 90 ALSO QUALIFY FOR FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH. ALL EDUCATORS RECEIVING FORSE SERVICES ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENDORSED THE PROGRAM.

THE MN STATE SCIENCE ENGINEERING FAIR WAS HELD AS A HYBRID EVENT MARCH 20-31, 2022 THAT INCLUDED BOTH A VIRTUAL COMPETITION AND A ONE-DAY, IN-PERSON EVENT. A TOTAL OF 356 STUDENTS FROM 73 SCHOOLS PRESENTED 317 PROJECTS. PARTICIPATION WAS UP 9 OVER 2021. 291 STEM PROFESSIONALS VOLUNTEERED AS JUDGES, AND SEVERAL MORE SERVED IN OTHER ROLES. THE STUDENT PARTICIPATION FEE WAS LOWERED 10 OVER 2021 AND ALL STUDENTS WITH FINANCIAL NEED WERE GRANTED FEE WAIVERS. A LIVE, ONLINE AWARDS CEREMONY FEATURING A KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND RECOGNIZING TOP AWARD WINNERS WAS HELD VIA WEBINAR MARCH 30, 2022. ALL AWARDS WERE ANNOUNCED ONLINE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE LIVE CEREMONY AT MNMAS.ORG. 129 STUDENTS AND THEIR TEACHERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS ATTENDED A FREE IN-PERSON, CULMINATING EVENT HELD MARCH 31, 2022 AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA.

THE MN REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE BOWLS WERE HELD ONLINE ON JANUARY 22, 2022 AND FEBRUARY 12, 2022, RESPECTIVELY. THE WINNING TEAMS REPRESENTED MINNESOTA IN THE NATIONAL SCIENCE BOWL VIRTUAL SEMI-FINALS IN MAY 2022 AND EACH TEAM MADE IT INTO THE FINAL 16. THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS HAS BEGUN TO RECOVER FROM PANDEMIC LOWS THE HIGH SCHOOL EVENT FEATURED 17 SCHOOLS AND 31 TEAMS, SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THE PRIOR YEAR 29 TEAMS, AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOL BOWL DOUBLED TO 9 SCHOOLS AND 14 TEAMS, THOUGH THIS IS STILL DOWN FROM PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS. A SIGNIFICANT AND WELL-RECEIVED NEW ACTIVITY WAS A MEET THE SCIENTISTS PANEL SESSION HELD DURING EACH BOWL, FEATURING LOCAL VOLUNTEERS TALKING ABOUT THEIR STEM-RELATED JOBS AND RESPONDING TO STUDENT QUESTIONS.