The Grant Submission period is currently closed.

Submission Period Opens

early November

Submission Period Closes

mid January

Libraries Notification

Grant Recipients will be notified by SKPL by the end of March

Grant Criteria

Grant Criteria

 

  • This grant is restricted to public libraries that serve geographic areas inside or partially inside the IEEE-Region 4. This includes all of Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

See the green-shaded area of this map:
https://www.ieee.org/communities/us-region-map.html
If still in doubt, e-mail Douglas.DeBoer@Dordt.edu

  • The grant provides funding to _establish_ a circulating science kit collections program. Libraries should expect to use their own funds to maintain the circulating science kits for a number of years.  Libraries that already have a circulating science kit collection are not eligible.
  • The Grant request is for no more than $2000.
  • The applicant must be a Public Library.
  • The grant may fund any or all STEM subject areas. Breadth is encouraged but some electrical, electronics, and/or computer kits should be included.

Library Expectations

Libraries awarded funding are expected to:

  • Create or purchase science kits each of which consists of equipment, instructions for prepared experiments, and/or workbooks.
  • This grant is to fund hands-on circulating science kits.  This is not a grant for the purchase of books and DVDs on STEM subjects.  Except that such may be funded by this grant if they are instruction manuals or similar materials that will be circulated with related science kits.  Example: The book “The Arduino Inventor’s Guide” by Brian Huang and Derek Runberg may be funded by this grant if it combined with a “SparkFun Inventor’s Kit” (or any of many similar products) as one “kit” at checkout.  (A “SparkFun Inventor’s Kit” contains an “Arduino” processor, the topic of the bundled book.  The total kit, as checked out, provides a hands-on experience.)
  • Develop programming for pre-university students (K-12) which promotes the study of science and the use of the science kits
  • Plan for sustaining the project after grant funding is concluded.
  • Plan for other public libraries to replicate the results and for teaching best practices to others.
  • Cooperate with IEEE on publicity and promotion of the project.
  • Tag the science kits stating that they have been sponsored by IEEE.  (Other sources of funding may also be acknowledged.)