Grant Supports McNichols Plaza Student STEM Experience

The University of Scranton received a $1,000 community events grant from the Scranton Area Community Foundation. The grant will support an interactive field trip for fourth grade students at McNichols Plaza Elementary School in South Scranton to the University’s Loyola Science Center to learn more about STEM fields.

Under the guidance of University of Scranton professors, University students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields will plan and run learning stations for the fourth-grade students that focus on age-appropriate lessons in the biological sciences about wildlife and the environment.

The University has partnered with McNichols Plaza Elementary School in the Scranton School District for several years to offer programing that connects the University’s resources in the sciences with area children to introduce them to the STEM fields.

The mission of the Scranton Area Community Foundation, a public 501c3 community foundation, is to enhance the quality of life for all people in Northeastern Pennsylvania through the development of organized philanthropy. According to its website, the foundation serves as a steward, a grant-maker, a charitable resource and a catalyst for change. The foundation manages more than 300 charitable funds established by philanthropic individuals in our community and have granted more than $20 million to assist the educational, human service, environmental, civic, and arts and cultural organizations in Northeastern Pennsylvania.