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.
Installation of Science On a Sphere at Discovery Science Center of Orange County (Priority 1)
Discovery Science Center of Orange County (DSC) proposes a cooperative agreement with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to install Science On a Sphere (SOS) spherical display system showing Earth system science in DSC's informal educational science center under Priority 1 of this funding opportunity. With the closest SOS display system located in Northern California, installation of this technology at DSC will provide access to NOAA's data by over 400,000 students, their families and educators from Southern California annually. As partners, DSC will ensure that NOAA data sets are incorporated into educational resources that align with California State Science Standards and will meet NOAA educational plan goals.
Climate Resilient Flint: Building Community-Driven Climate Resilience through Hyperlocal Science-to-Civics Learning
Climate Resilient Flint seeks to develop climate resilience literacy in Flint, Michigan through neighborhood placemaking projects and green workforce education and training. High urban blight and low climate literacy are expected to leave many of the city’s residents susceptible to anticipated rises in regional summer temperatures and heavy precipitation events. Building on evidence illustrating that social cohesion, education, and a sense of place are key factors in communities’ abilities to adapt to outside shocks or stressors, this project aims to foster climate resilience by engaging underserved and vulnerable neighborhoods in a three-year science-to-civics learning program. Priority neighborhoods will participate in organized deliberative forums to discuss regional climate changes and local impacts before developing plans to repurpose vacant neighborhood lots into spaces that use passive cooling and stormwater management strategies to reduce vulnerability to heat and precipitation. As community members become aware of the connections among climate impacts, climate resilience, and community wellbeing, they will develop the knowledge to further their civic engagement in local social, sustainability, environmental, and climate issues. Additionally, Climate Resilient Flint will develop and teach an environmental literacy and job readiness curriculum for returning citizens with barriers to employment. The Empowerment Through Innovation and Knowledge (EPIK) education program will help participants build a holistic job-seeker profile by complimenting hands-on learning of green infrastructure skills with place-based environmental literacy education embedded within local and regional climate contexts. Through the EPIK curriculum, participants will develop the skills and credentials to advance their competitiveness in Michigan’s green infrastructure job market. With the goal of reducing differential access to education, knowledge, and resources, this project reflects NOAA’s education mission to further equitable environmental literacy and climate resilience capacity by employing active learning and knowledge co-production. Climate Resilient Flint is a collaborative effort between Kettering University, Environmental Transformation Movement of Flint, M.A.D.E. Institute, Neighborhood Engagement Hub, Genesee Conservation District, and NOAA’s Office of Education and Climate Program Office.
Science on a Sphere: Bringing the Oceans to You
Through this award, the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island (NCARI) has installed NOAA's Science on a Sphere (SOS) to enhance and expand their existing Storms exhibit. NCARI's location on the Outer Banks makes understanding ocean systems critically important. Installing SOS increases environmental literacy by exposing NCARI's 300,000 annual visitors to NOAA datasets and information. Additionally, through educational programming students, teachers, and visitors obtain current and accurate information to help them make better-informed decisions. Workshops hosted at NCARI have provided valuable professional development opportunities for both informal educators and NOAA staff.
Science On a Sphere in the Forces of Nature Exhibition
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is developing a new permanent public exhibition gallery focusing on environmental and earth systems science to be called Forces of Nature. With NOAA support, Science On a Sphere will be the centerpiece for this new gallery. A collaboration is planned between Whitaker Center and the Department of Meteorology at The Pennsylvania State University in which existing datasets provided by Penn State researchers with NOAA data and meteorological models will be prepared for presentation on spherical display systems.