Explore awards

Use the filter menu and interactive map to explore the past competitions offered and grants awarded through the Environmental Literacy Program.

To learn more about project findings and outcomes, view the summaries of our grantees’ summative evaluation reports.

DataStreme Ocean: AMS/NOAA Teacher Enhancement

Funding: $990,000
Year: 2005
This project provides for the continued development of a national cadre of precollege teachers competent in ocean and coastal environmental science content and appropriate pedagogy who serve as Ocean Education Resource Teachers and leaders in their local areas and home states. In recognition of the vital role of teachers in promoting environmental literacy, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) proposes the ongoing offering and continual development of its in-service precollege teacher enhancement course entitled DataStreme Ocean (see https://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/ds-ocean/home.html).

This project provides for the continued development of a national cadre of precollege teachers competent in ocean and coastal environmental science content and appropriate pedagogy who serve as Ocean Education Resource Teachers and leaders in their local areas and home states. In recognition of the vital role of teachers in promoting environmental literacy, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) proposes the ongoing offering and continual development of its in-service precollege teacher enhancement course entitled DataStreme Ocean (see https://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/ds-ocean/home.html). The semester-long, three-credit hour graduate course will be offered at up to 25 sites nationally via three-member Local Implementation Teams (LITs). About 75 specially trained precollege teachers, college/university professors, and scientists serve on LITs. Project institutional partners include NOAA and the State University of New York at Brockport. DataStreme Ocean is partially delivered online and focuses on investigations of the ocean and coastal environment emphasizing the use of the most current NOAA data available on the Internet. Offered fall and spring semesters, 400 teachers will be trained during the 2005-06 school year. As part of their training, participants develop Plans of Action outlining their roles as Ocean Education Resource Teachers in their schools.

Award Number: NA05SEC4691005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2005 to 08/31/2007
PI: Ira Geer
State: Massachusetts   County:   Suffolk District: MA08
Partners: State University of New York at Brockport ·

AMS/NOAA Cooperative Program for Earth System Education (CPESE)

Funding: $1,857,200
Year: 2012
The Cooperative Program for Earth System Education (CPESE) – with assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Brockport – is a major collaboration between the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and NOAA that advances NOAA’s mission of Science, Service, and Stewardship by sharing knowledge and information about weather, climate, and the ocean.

The Cooperative Program for Earth System Education (CPESE) – with assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Brockport – is a major collaboration between the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and NOAA that advances NOAA’s mission of Science, Service, and Stewardship by sharing knowledge and information about weather, climate, and the ocean. CPESE facilitates national offering of the DataStreme Atmosphere and DataStreme Ocean courses and supports Project ATMOSPHERE leadership training workshops at the National Weather Service Training Center (Kansas City) for in-service K-12 educators. Over five years, about 3,000 teacher participants will earn graduate credits through a partnership with SUNY at Brockport and become confident Earth science educators capable of implementing engaging, pedagogically appropriate activities in their classrooms. These educators are expected to impact more than 30,000 additional educators and one million K-12 students. In addition to the professional development for in-service K-12 educators, CPESE enables the AMS to design curricula for introductory college-level Earth science courses, which help prepare pre-service educators. CPESE is built on a shared vision that highly trained educators are key to an environmentally and geo-scientifically literate public.

Competition: 2012: AMS Datastreme Program
Award Number: NA12SEC0080020
Grant Dates: 10/01/2012 to 09/30/2017
PI: Wendy Abshire
State: Massachusetts   County:   Suffolk District: MA08
Partners: State University of New York at Brockport · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) · NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) · NOAA Office of Education · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Mount Holly, NJ Weather Forecast Office · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Grand Rapids, MI Forecast Office · Pennsylvania Western University (PennWest) ·

Connections: A Comprehensive Environmental Education Program Centered on NOAA Science On a Sphere (SOS)

Bishop Museum offsite link · Honolulu, Hawaii
Funding: $493,970
Year: 2005
The Bishop Museum will develop, implement and evaluate of a full set of informal education programs centered on the Science On a Sphere® exhibit. This project includes the following programs and exhibits: -Eleven classroom modules on earth and ocean sciences (one module for each grade from kindergarten through 10th) using a field trip to the Science On a Sphere® (SOS) and the new Science Adventure Center at Bishop Museum as the keystone for each module.

The Bishop Museum will develop, implement and evaluate of a full set of informal education programs centered on the Science On a Sphere® exhibit. This project includes the following programs and exhibits: -Eleven classroom modules on earth and ocean sciences (one module for each grade from kindergarten through 10th) using a field trip to the Science On a Sphere® (SOS) and the new Science Adventure Center at Bishop Museum as the keystone for each module. - Exhibits in the planetarium lobby that will augment the SOS display by providing additional content information, local tie-ins, and information on how SOS works. - Daily live demonstrations at the sphere. This includes public demonstrations (1200 shows, 22,000 attendees during the grant period) and school children (400 shows, 9600 attendees during the grant period) for a total attendance of 31,600. -Yearly teacher workshops (2 total, 80 educators) to promote the use of the classroom modules mentioned above with NOAA staff and museum staff. Special-event programming incorporating the sphere will also include an eight-session lecture series featuring NOAA staff; two annual "Mad About Science" Festivals; eight Family Sunday events; and twenty local television news and weather broadcasts using the sphere and its programs for content and background.

Award Number: NA05SEC4691011
Grant Dates: 10/01/2005 to 09/30/2007
PI: Mike Shanhan
State: Hawaii   County:   Honolulu District: HI01
Partners: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) · Hawaii State Department of Education ·

NOAA's Science On a Sphere at Bishop Museum (Installation Award)

Bishop Museum offsite link · Honolulu, Hawaii
Funding: $170,000
Year: 2005
Bishop Museum is installing Science On a Sphere® (SOS) at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu , Hawai’i. Science on a Sphere, a spherical multimedia display on which NOAA data can be displayed, provides an unparalleled opportunity for innovative and meaningful environmental education for all ages. Hawai’i's natural environment is ideal for conducting research and education on significant topics of earth and ocean sciences, and NOAA scientists currently play a large role in ongoing research in and around the Hawaiian Islands.

Bishop Museum is installing Science On a Sphere® (SOS) at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu , Hawai’i. Science on a Sphere, a spherical multimedia display on which NOAA data can be displayed, provides an unparalleled opportunity for innovative and meaningful environmental education for all ages. Hawai’i's natural environment is ideal for conducting research and education on significant topics of earth and ocean sciences, and NOAA scientists currently play a large role in ongoing research in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The addition of a SOS unit to the Museum will allow visitors to learn about the global earth systems that underlie the "science of Hawai’i" featured in the Science Adventure Center at the Bishop Museum. The Science On a Sphere® globe will feature a variety of data sets and serve as the centerpiece of live educational presentations. In addition, Bishop Museum staff and scientists will assist in creating new and exciting visuals for SOS.

Award Number: NA05SEC4691013
Grant Dates: 10/01/2005 to 09/30/2008
PI: Mike Shanhan
State: Hawaii   County:   Honolulu District: HI01
Partners: Hawaii State Department of Education · University of Hawaii at Manoa ·

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education Scale-up Initiative

National Geographic Society offsite link · Washington, District of Columbia
Funding: $1,921,378
Year: 2012
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education Scale-up Initiative is a project-based educational program that engages students in 21st century investigations of watershed concepts using real-time geospatial technology. The project's goal is to provide as many as 20,000 students across eight states with a dynamic, geographic learning experience that combines classroom learning activities with outdoor field experiences and technology-supported inquiry. To achieve this goal, the project will provide professional development for 400 educators across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education Scale-up Initiative is a project-based educational program that engages students in 21st century investigations of watershed concepts using real-time geospatial technology. The project's goal is to provide as many as 20,000 students across eight states with a dynamic, geographic learning experience that combines classroom learning activities with outdoor field experiences and technology-supported inquiry. To achieve this goal, the project will provide professional development for 400 educators across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This project builds on an existing educational citizen science project launched by the National Geographic Society in 2009 to study water quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and has been designed to serve as a national model for the implementation of classroom and field-based learning.

Competition: 2012: NOAA Broad Agency Announcement for FY 2012—2013
Award Number: NA12SEC0080021
Grant Dates: 07/01/2012 to 09/30/2014
PI: Kathleen Schwille
State: District of Columbia   County:   District of Columbia District: DC00
Partners: Delaware Department of Education · Longwood University · Rowan University · Spotsylvania County Public Schools · Sultana Education Foundation · Concord University · Monroe Community College in Rochester · Mountain Institute · Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts · Renfrew Institute · Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania · Social Studies Coalition of Delaware (SSCD) · South Jersey Land and Water Trust · State University of New York at Buffalo · University of Delaware · University of Maryland / Center for Environmental Science / Appalachian Laboratory · University of Maryland (UMD) Baltimore County ·