Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Over $464,000 in STEM Education Grants

 Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Over $464,000 in STEM Education Grants  

Grants support applied STEM learning experiences during MA STEM Week, October 20-24 

 
BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced today that they have awarded over $464,000 in STEM Design Challenge grants to seven non-profit and public education organizations, supporting STEM learning opportunities statewide for students from elementary school through high school. These STEM Design Challenges come just ahead of Massachusetts STEM Week, October 20–24, 2025, underscoring the administration’s focus on expanding hands-on STEM opportunities. 

 

“Massachusetts leads the nation in education and innovation because we know success starts in our classrooms and with our young people. STEM Week is about inspiring curiosity, creativity and confidence in young people across the state,” said Governor Maura Healey. “By investing in hands-on STEM experiences, we’re preparing students of all ages to solve problems, pursue new ideas and lead the future economy.” 

 

“STEM Week is about making sure every student can see themselves as part of Massachusetts’ innovation story,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We are grateful to the organizations creating these STEM Design Challenges for helping to spark that excitement for our students, giving them the chance to explore, create and envision a future in STEM.” 

 

STEM Design Challenge Grants aim to expand access to applied STEM curricula and increase participation among historically underrepresented populations in STEM fields, including students of color, girls, low-income and first-generation students, English learners, and students with disabilities. It also seeks to provide teachers with professional development and implementation resources, promote meaningful employer engagement in curriculum design and activities, and build a community of practice to share best practices and strengthen partnerships with employers that offer paid STEM internships to high school students. 

 

“STEM Week is a powerful example of learning coming to life when students design, build, and solve real-world challenges,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “Through the Design Challenge grants, we’re creating opportunities that spark curiosity and confidence in STEM, especially for students who have been historically underrepresented in these fields. I’m grateful to the schools and community organizations partnering with us to show young people across Massachusetts that ‘STEM Starts Now.’” 

 

Massachusetts STEM Week continues to lift up the theme establish last year “STEM Starts Now.” This theme highlights the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers, reinforcing the message that STEM learning can start at any age and plays a crucial role in shaping the future workforce of the state. 

The STEM Design Challenge Grants are offered by the STEM Advisory Council, which was established to expand access to high-quality STEM education for students across Massachusetts, and is currently co-chaired by Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, U.S Congressman Jake Auchincloss and Chairman, President and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Dr. Jeffery Leiden. 

 

The STEM design challenge awardees:  

 

The Blackstone Valley Hub for Workforce Development – Offered in partnership with True Robotics and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, this Design Challenge “Automation in Modern Manufacturing” will engage high school students in exploring how robotics and design thinking are transforming 21st-century production environments. Students will simulate real-world manufacturing settings by designing a robot that performs key functions essential to modern production and assembly lines. 

 

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts – This Design Challenge “You Can Build It!” will engage students in grades 2 through 8 with both a virtual offering and in-school events. This project will integrate GSEMA’s STEM-ON-THE-GO mobile learning van, supported by the Cummings Foundation, that will visit schools across three distinct regions in eastern Massachusetts. The challenge will utilize the “Girl Scouts Who Build” curriculum: an innovative, multi-level, career-focused curriculum that was designed over a 10-year partnership with Suffolk Construction to address gender disparities in the construction field. 

 

Museum of Science – This Design Challenge “Being Human: Engineering Bandages” will engage elementary school students in using the Engineering Design Process to design a bandage that covers and protects a model cut. Students will investigate sticky and absorbent materials and explore how the different parts of a bandage work together to create a successful design. The students will also participate in careers activities that highlight professionals who work in life science fields. Educators will receive engineering curriculum curated for students in grades K-5 and free professional development to support the design challenge.   

 

WADE Institute (Manomet, Inc.) – Offered in partnership with the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, this Design Challenge “H2Whoa! Hydroengineers at Work” will engage middle school students in a unique opportunity to integrate science and engineering concepts in a series of inquiry-based investigations that lead to a student-driven challenge. Faced with the real-life problems of water pollution and drought, students will explore how nature can inspire human innovation as they build prototypes to address these challenges. Students will be given a challenge to design and build a system that can capture rainwater, or snowmelt, and filter it to make it cleaner. 

 

Work Based Learning Alliance, Inc – This Design Challenge “Designing a Sustainable Future” will engage high school students in tackling a real-world sustainability challenge while exploring high-demand STEM career pathways across industries such as engineering, IT, clean energy and health sciences. “Designing a Sustainable Future” will see students designing a sustainable urban aquaculture farm - integrating solar energy, a recirculating water filtration system, and community-driven food solutions. Working in interdisciplinary teams of 5-7, students will bring their varied interests, knowledge and pathways of study to produce deliverables such as CAD models, system budgets, energy analyses, health impact analyses and outreach plans for local food pantries. 

 

YMCAs of MA – This Design Challenge “GreenFit: Design a Sustainable YMCA” engages middle and high school students in a week-long program to redesign their local YMCA as a sustainable, energy-efficient community hub. Youth will explore applied STEM concepts through hands-on activities, collaborative design thinking, and environmental problem-solving. They will work with GRO, a multidisciplinary design and development firm specializing in sustainable, community-centered solutions that integrate environmental stewardship, inclusive design, and long-term impact for diverse communities. GRO will provide virtual training to both youth and YMCA staff who are supporting the youth in what goes into designing a sustainable YMCA.