NSF grant will help STEM programming in Pittsburgh, Baltimore
A $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help leaders in Baltimore and Pittsburgh work to develop new STEM learning programs at their recreation centers.
The grant, awarded to the Baltimore-based Digital Harbor Foundation, will help the foundation build on its programs in the cities.
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming is often relegated to schools, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Thursday during a virtual event.
“Kids learn after school. Kids learn on the weekend. Kids learn during the summer,” Peduto said.
It’s one of the reasons he pursued the programs pioneered in Baltimore by the Digital Harbor Foundation to Pittsburgh.
The foundation uses community recreation centers as a place to engage youth in the STEM learning process it calls “Rec-to-Tech” to use the centers as learning hubs.
The grant will fund three years of research about the effectiveness of the Rec-to-Tech model and it will allow Digital Harbor to establish two new sites in each city. The locations of the Pittsburgh sites hasn’t been determined.
The program is also supported by Baltimore officials.
“He’s just been flying off the planet with this thing,” Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said of Andrew Coy, who leads Digital Harbor.
The grant will help Digital Harbor continue its programs and build them into something that other cities can begin to use, Coy said.
“We believe that the research from this project will have the potential to ripple across the country,” Coy said.
It’s important to build practical STEM skills in youth so they’re prepared to get jobs in the field in the future, Peduto said.
The programs build what Peduto called a “ladder of opportunity” for youth so they’re prepared to be qualified for these jobs.
Similar programs led by Digital Harbor at a recreation center in Pittsburgh’s Hill District were given a boost by $100,000 in funding from the Penguins and FNB Corp which is helping to pay for renovations and equipment at the Ammon Rec2Tech Education Center.
Tom Davidson is a TribLive news editor. He has been a journalist in Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. He can be reached at tdavidson@triblive.com.
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