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Category: 901STEM Spark Grants

  • Germantown, You Helped Us Build More Than a Tower.

    Germantown, You Helped Us Build More Than a Tower.

    At our very first Germantown Festival, more than 200 people stopped by the 901STEM booth to add to our Community Tower, meet our team, learn about our programs, and discover how we’re working to expand access to hands-on STEM experiences in our community.

    We talked with families. We met educators with ideas for their classrooms. We connected with potential volunteers and partners. R2-D2 made a lot of new friends. And we watched kids of all ages stop, grab a handful of blocks, and start building.

    But perhaps our favorite result from the weekend:

    A donation we received at the festival will fully fund our next $1,000 Classroom Spark Grant.

    That means the impact of this weekend didn’t end when we packed up the booth last night. It will continue in a local classroom, giving an educator resources to turn another STEM idea into an experience for students.

    That’s exactly what we hoped 901STEM could become: a community helping create more opportunities for kids to build, experiment, solve problems, and discover what they’re capable of.

    To everyone who built with us, talked with us, supported us, or simply stopped to learn what 901STEM is all about: thank you.

    And to our 901STEM team: thank you for an incredible weekend.

    We built a pretty great tower.

    We’re even more excited about what we’re building together.

  • One More Day to Build with 901STEM

    One More Day to Build with 901STEM

    What a first day at the Germantown Festival!

    Families helped our community tower grow, more than 50 people entered the Ultimate STEM Basket giveaway, and we met potential volunteers, educators and community partners interested in helping expand access to hands-on STEM learning.

    Now we’re ready to build some more.

    Visit the 901STEM booth today, Sunday, September 13, from noon to 6 p.m. Add your creativity to our building-block tower, meet our Mission Control team and learn about our workshops, Classroom Spark Grants and partnership opportunities.

    Entries for the Ultimate STEM Basket giveaway remain open until 6 p.m. Children and grown-ups are both invited to build with us.

    Come help us finish the weekend strong!

  • 901STEM’s Inaugural Spark Grant Awarded to Concord Academy

    901STEM’s Inaugural Spark Grant Awarded to Concord Academy

    On 901 Day, we are proud to announce an important first for 901STEM: Concord Academy has been selected as the inaugural recipient of a 901STEM Spark Grant and will serve as our pilot education partner.

    The $1,000 grant will support meaningful, hands-on STEM learning for Concord students.

    The 901STEM Spark Grant program helps schools, school systems, and community organizations remove practical barriers to engaging STEM experiences. Our goal is to award one $1,000 grant each month, supporting ideas that give students opportunities to build, experiment, collaborate, and discover their potential.

    Concord Academy prepares students with learning differences for lifelong success. Its community embraces students’ differences, honors their individual learning styles, and creates an environment where they can learn, grow, and thrive.

    That mission makes Concord Academy a natural partner for 901STEM. We believe STEM should be accessible to every learner, not only those who have traditionally seen themselves represented in these fields or who thrive in conventional learning environments. Hands-on STEM experiences can offer students new ways to explore ideas, solve problems, express creativity, and recognize their own strengths. By working with educators who understand and celebrate different ways of learning, we can help expand what meaningful STEM participation looks like.

    This first award is also an opportunity to learn. As our pilot education partner, Concord Academy will help us understand how the application, funding, and reporting process works from a school’s perspective. What we learn together will help us build a program that is useful to educators, responsive to students, and capable of growing throughout Memphis and the Mid-South.

    This milestone was made possible through the generous support of Jason and Lindsay Taylor. The Taylor family believed in 901STEM early in our journey, and we are grateful for their investment in our students and educators.

    901 Day is a celebration of the people, organizations, and ideas that make Memphis special. We can think of no better day to begin putting this new program into action, and no better first partner than a school committed to helping all kinds of learners succeed.

    Congratulations to Concord Academy. We look forward to learning, building, and creating an impact together.

  • Join 901STEM: Empowering Students Through Hands-On Learning

    Join 901STEM: Empowering Students Through Hands-On Learning

    We’ve been quietly building something—and we’re ready to introduce it.

    901STEM is a new Memphis-area nonprofit working to expand access to meaningful, hands-on STEM learning, with a particular focus on students and communities facing barriers to opportunity.

    Our vision is simple: Every student should have the opportunity to discover their potential through STEM.

    Over the past several months, we have established the organization, developed our first programs and begun testing hands-on STEM experiences with local students and educators.

    Our early pilots have already reinforced some important lessons:

    – Students learn best when they can build, test, adjust and try again.
    – A successful STEM experience doesn’t require expensive equipment.
    – Small teams create opportunities for every student to contribute.
    – Educators and community partners must help shape the programs intended to serve them.
    – There is no single kind of student who belongs in STEM.

    Those lessons are guiding our approach: Amplify what works. Fill the gaps. Expand access.

    In the weeks ahead, we’ll share more about our workshops, classroom resources, community partnerships, and a new grant initiative supporting
    hands-on STEM learning in local schools.

    We’re just getting started—and we’re glad you’re here.

    Follow 901STEM and visit 901stem.org to learn more.

    #901STEM #STEMEducation #HandsOnLearning #Memphis