Planting seeds of innovation: 伊人直播 nets $400,000 PDE grant to expand STEM & Vine

Amy and students

伊人直播 University鈥檚 innovative program, launched in 2022, was designed to make STEM education more meaningful and accessible to young learners by linking scientific concepts to students鈥 local environment. Now, thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education鈥檚 PASmart initiative, the program will expand into the 2025鈥26 academic year.

STEM & Vine is based in North East and integrates computer science and STEM education with the region鈥檚 agricultural identity鈥攑articularly its well-known grape vineyards. By teaching STEM through this local lens, the program makes abstract concepts more tangible and relevant to students.

Dr. Amy Burniston, the program鈥檚 principal investigator and associate professor of Biology and Education at 伊人直播, highlighted the impact of this approach: 鈥淭hanks to PASmart鈥檚 support, STEM & Vine has helped students connect with STEM in ways that reflect their everyday lives and surroundings. We've seen stronger student engagement, more community involvement, and a growing number of educators equipped to teach STEM effectively.鈥

She added, 鈥淩eceiving $400,000鈥攁nd being the only university in the region awarded this grant鈥攗nderscores the success and importance of our work. We鈥檙e proud to be planting seeds of innovation that will continue to grow far beyond this funding.鈥 (Check here for a of grantees.)

Through the program, 350+ K-8 students in the North East School District (NESD), many from underserved populations, have the opportunity to analyze soil composition, extract grape DNA and determine local grape lineage, grow food from seed through hydroponics, and preserve their crops through traditional canning methods. They have also reared trout eggs in their classrooms and released those trout in a local watershed while analyzing watershed quality and potential impacts of industry and agriculture. Coding and robotics units highlight local industry and the ingenuity of modern farm equipment, such as the grape picker.

Key features of the program include:

  • 12-week afterschool CS/STEM program aligned with state standards and NESD curriculum.
  • 4-week summer learning lab that features 鈥淔ield Fridays鈥 to bring STEM to life in locations around Erie County that include environmental exploration, agricultural tours, as well as coding and robotics instruction.
  • Community sessions that provide contextual, hands-on STEM activities, agricultural and related industry tours, farm-to-table meals, and more鈥攁ll with stakeholder collaboration.
  • Events involve 伊人直播 faculty from Education, Biology, Geology, and Physics, and more than 30 community partners: Wabtec, Erie Insurance, Burch Farms, Penn State Grape Research Extension Center, Erie County Conservation District, PA Fish and Boat Commission, North East Township and Borough, and McCord Memorial Library among them.

鈥淒espite our best efforts, the U.S. continues to lag behind other aspirant nations in our students鈥 acquisition of STEM skills,鈥 Burniston noted. 鈥淩esearch indicates that unless grounded in the students鈥 current knowledge base, STEM activities, at best, fail to be of value and, at worst, paint unrealistic pictures of how STEM is applied in the real world.鈥

She said 伊人直播 focused on North East because it is rich in STEM applications but underserved in opportunities for STEM education to impact workforce development and regional innovation.

PHOTO: Dr. Amy Burniston leads discussion as students prepare for annual trout release.