NEWS

RUSTON – The IDEA Place at Louisiana Tech and SciPort Discovery Center in Shreveport will be teaming up to offer science and technology training and resources to area educators thanks to a government grant program.

The National Space Grant Foundation and NASA’s Aerospace Education Services Project awarded nearly $27,000—one of 11 mini-grants—to the partnership, to which matching funds will be added. The grants, which range from $15,000 to $30,000, are awarded to universities and other organizations to develop new courses designed to benefit K-12 teachers.

“This partnership will allow SciTEC’s NASA Educator Resource Center to partner with Sci-Port Louisiana’s Science Center in Shreveport to help teachers from North Louisiana obtain and utilize NASA materials,” said Lindsey Keith-Vincent, IDEA Place museum educator.

The program, dubbed Space Institute for Teachers, will provide free materials to teachers across the state at their request. Teachers will also be invited to participate in a four-day professional development program in August, which will include field trips to SciPort and the IDEA Place, collaborative instructional sessions, a distance learning session, and stipends for participation and supplies.

The one-year grant program will facilitate a new working relationship between the two centers that will foster innovative ideas and hopefully result in more collaborative opportunities for the centers and area teachers, Keith-Vincent said.

To find out more information about the program or to register, interested educators may call the IDEA Place at (318) 257-2866.

Written by Dr. Elizabeth Christian