• Published: Mar. 28, 2023, 12:06 p.m.

By   Paul Gattis | pgattis@al.com

The Meta, formerly known as Facebook, data center in Huntsville is awarding $90,000 in grants to area schools as part of its annual community action grants initiative.
Altogether, Meta is donating $217,950 to nine entities in the Huntsville area for 2023. And since announcing plans for the data center in 2018, grants have eclipsed $2.5 million.

“The Meta Data Center Community Action Grants program was created to address needs in Madison County by putting the power of technology to use for community benefit, connecting people online or off and improving STEM education,” Meta said in the announcement.
Here are the grants and the projects they will help fund:

• First Stop ($17,700) - This grant will bridge the digital divide in the homeless community through increased digital connectivity, access, and education.
• Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater (& Academy) ($50,000) - This grant will enable the ability to provide free and reduced training and production programming to under resourced youth and title 1 schools, thereby connecting area youth to each other, their communities, and a successful future.
• 100 Black Men of Greater Huntsville ($10,000) - This grant will create a mentoring pipeline with students who can help shape our future by supporting the STEAMposium event, which will serve as a platform to educate and expose participants to various career opportunities.
• Huntsville City Schools ($10,000) - The grant will allow Huntsville City Schools to provide hands on resources, including Raspberry Pis, for middle school computer science classrooms enhancing the experience for the students.
• The Cap & Gown Project ($15,000) - This grant will enable better, more equitable college preparation, STEM education, and college access for students across Huntsville City Schools and the surrounding area.
• Madison City Schools ($30,000) - This grant will create a Middle School Meta Makerspace in middle school libraries that serves as a STEM collaboration space that is accessible to all
• Madison County School System ($50,000) - This grant will enhance STEM education and opportunities, create equitable experiences, and to spark interest in STEM career fields throughout Madison County and Alabama.
• Mae Jemison High School Robotics Club via Greater Huntsville Rotary Foundation ($10,250) - This grant will further STEM education and application among high school students through leadership and skills training provided through the robotics program and adult mentorship.
• Huntsville-Madison County Library Foundation ($25,000) - This grant will create a STEM MakerSpace Studio at the Downtown Library to enhance existing programming and provide greater opportunities for Library patrons to explore their roles as inventors, creators, and problem-solvers.

Source: https://www.al.com/news/2023/03/metas-huntsville-data-center-gives-90000-to-area-schools.html​

Alabama Science Festival hosts its third annual 'STEAMfest' to inspire both adults and the next generation.

Author: Sedona Meadows
Published: 12:45 AM CDT October 30, 2022
Updated: 12:46 AM CDT October 30, 2022

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The world of science is huge and for many kids it's all about finding what intrigues them.
The Alabama Science Festival hosted their third annual 'STEAMfest' in Huntsville,  sparking curiosity in the next generation.
Kathryn McCown and Joe Iacuzzo are the founders and directors of the festival.
"If you can think it or dream it, in science, it's probably here today," McCown said.

Iacuzzo added, "the whole purpose is to meet people here who can talk to you about how much fun it is and the opportunities, the endless opportunities that a STEM education can give you."
They aim to inspire both adults and the next generation through celebration of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, hence the name 'STEAMfest.'
"It's really the community that's supporting us. It's the companies, the people, the volunteers….They have all been fantastic and giving. They all want to be a part of our mission of showcasing what a stem education and stem learning can offer to anybody, not just young people," Iacuzzo said.
Marilene van Beek, the event producer for the Alabama Science Festival, said, "there's so many jobs out there as well. And to be introduced to them at a young age, they can guide them through college, which path they want to go and see what they really like and what they're passionate about."
Speaking of passions, a local all-girls robotics team, called the 'Nerdettes' are working to get more girls involved in stem. 
Emily King, a member of the Nerdettes, shared, "we've been competing as an FTC team for about four years now, and just this past year we got to advance to world competition in Houston, Texas, and compete with 160 other teams from around the world." 
Megan Quinn, another member of the Nerdettes, said, "I feel like robotics has really helped me to just get out there and to see what all parts of STEM there are. So I would have never gotten to experience mechanical, which I probably will be experiencing a lot in my future. But I would have never gotten to experience that without robotics."
STEAMfest explores many different types of science such as: marine life, dinosaurs, photography, archeology. 
And of course, while hosted here in the Rocket City, they can't forget about space. 
​Retiree's of Marshall Space Flight Center join forces with the youth who will eventually lead the way toward new discoveries.
"There are people there who built the space shuttle and designed it, and it's just incredible to come in there to talk to you, to share their knowledge, their history. And that's something that should never be lost," Iacuzzo said.

• By JONATHAN STINSON Assistant Editor Jonathan.stinson@theredstonerocket.com
• Feb 12, 2020

The Robotics Team at Mae Jemison High School has come a long way.
Just a few years ago, they had one student. Now there are about 20.
The first time the team went to a competition, they didn’t have a working robot.

Last year, they were the third highest-ranked team in the state, and the second-highest ranked team in North Alabama in the regional competition.
As they’ve grown, so has the facilities. New this year, they don’t have to pack everything up in a closet each night. They have their own lab.
Thanks to many sponsors, they have their own tools, and, for the first time, they’re getting to travel out of state for a competition.
Thanks to several mentors who volunteer countless hours, they have a little more know-how.
“A lot of kids think I can’t do robotics. I can’t build a robot,” Joan Keever, who mentors the robotics team, said. “They can.”
Keever added, even if robots aren’t your thing, there are dozens of other ways students can help and get involved.
In one corner of the converted physics lab at Mae Jemison, you have Prabenjan Mayalagu, who is in his first year with the club, working on some code, while across the room, other students are working on cutting out paper circles.
Richard Bradshaw, another student, is working to make some hardware pieces fit on a robot, and mentors Jim French, Jim Dailey, and Joshua Yarbrough are at the marker board working on diagrams.
Another mentor, Cydale Smith, is figuring in a notebook, while there’s a robot running up and down the hallway outside.

Article Source
​https://www.theredstonerocket.com/special_reports/article_161ac830-4db6-11ea-b157-3f624dcc751c.html

On Monday, January 27th Frank Brogan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and Secondary Education, visited Jemison High School and the Jemison College Academy to highlight National School Choice Week.  During the school tour, Assistant Secretary Brogan met with students and faculty members to learn about the variety of curriculum and extracurricular courses offered to all students in Huntsville City Schools, as well as the College Academy Magnet Program.
The Jemison College Academy Magnet Program is a partnership with The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), which offers students a college experience where they can earn up to 60 college credit hours while completing their high school diploma.
Alabama State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Eric Mackey, visited Huntsville High School before joining Mr. Brogan at Jemison High.  In addition to the College Academy, the two were able to explore several of Jemison High School’s Career Academies, including Advanced Manufacturing, Health Sciences, and Heavy Equipment Operation.
Mr. Brogan participated in a discussion with the College Academy students and faculty members from UAH to learn about the collaboration between the two schools, as well as the college courses and credits available to students participating in this magnet program.
Mr. Brogan described Huntsville as a thriving and growing part of the future fabric of Alabama, and Jemison High School is very much a part of building our future.  The essence of Jemison, Brogan said was “seeing tomorrow’s school in action today”. 
Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Christie Finley shared “The City of Huntsville is known for its innovation, and we at Huntsville City Schools are innovating by creating opportunities for our students to connect curriculum with career and workforce.”
This visit to Huntsville is one of many U.S. Department of Education officials are paying to schools across the country to highlight the need to give students the freedom to find the right fit for their education.

Article Source:
https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/state-federal-education-leaders-visit-jemison-high

Article Source
​https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/jemison-high-school/jhs-robotics-awarded-grant

​Congratulations to the JHS Robotics Team! The CyberJagzz won a grant from the Optimist Club of Huntsville's STEM Grant. The award will hep the CyberJagzz purchase a Limelight camera. The camera picks up reflective tape put on the playing field. It will help the team have a better robot this season!
We wrote the grant to get a Limelight camera, which picks up the reflective tape FIRST puts on the playing field. It will help us have a better robot this season!

Article Source
​https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/jemison-high-school/robotics-team-wins-optimist-huntsville-stem-grant

The JHS Robotics Team applied for a grant from PPG Industries in Huntsville. They were awarded the grant check during the Sophomore/Junior Orientation session the week before school started by Ms. Huston Poulton. The team will use the grant funds to pay for our team expenses this season. They will be attending the Rocket City Regional here in Huntsville, which is held from April 1-4, 2020. They will also attend a regional out of state either before or after the local event. On top of travel expenses the team will use the awarded money to expect to purchase materials for their "pit" at each competition, specialized tools, and additional materials for building the robot.The funds generously granted us from PPG will be well used!
Thank you, PPG.

Article Source
​https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/jemison-high-school/jhs-robotics-awarded-ppg-grant

Hundreds of high school engineers from around the country are in Huntsville this week for the 2019 FIRST Robotics Competition Rocket City Regional.

Author: Renata Di Gregorio
Published: 3:13 PM CDT March 14, 2019
Updated: 6:08 PM CDT March 14, 2019
​
 Hundreds of high school engineers from around the country are in Huntsville this week for the 2019 FIRST Robotics Competition Rocket City Regional.
Over the next few days the robots students have been working on for months will be put to the test. The robots have to complete specific challenges and the winner will head to the world championship.

​The theme for the competition this year is “Destination: Deep Space.”
“I couldn’t even begin to tell how many hours we’ve put in,” said Riley O’Donald. “I get together with all my friends, we come up, we now have to solve these problems, stuff like that. It’s great.”
“I get to have fun, I get to learn experience for engineering possibilities,” said David Muntele from Grissom High School.
“I just love the atmosphere, seeing high schoolers come together to build something many high schoolers may not have thought they could build,” added Zuri Gilmore.
The main competition is open to the public Saturday at the VBC.

Article Source:
​https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/high-schoolers-robots-compete-in-regional-competition/525-6dc0b639-f94c-49f9-94a3-8bfc8a9695af

Article Source
​http://wingcomwatchdog.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyberjagzz-robotic-students-get.html

• For The News Courier


• Jan 4, 2019

​The U.S. Space & Rocket is hosting the 2019 FIRST Robotics Kick-Off event Saturday, Jan. 5, from 9-11 a.m., at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.
Around 400 students are participating in this event in which they will receive the “Kit of Parts” needed to build, design and test a functioning robot. In six weeks, teams will compete with their completed robots in district and regional competitions in March and April to qualify for the national championship to be held in late April.
Representatives of the Rocket Center’s Space Camp Robotics program will also have a robotics demonstration and information on the program for students ages 9-14.
FIRST Robotics is a national robotic competition for students in grades 9-12, and this year 45 teams from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas are registered to participate. Each year, the FIRST Robotics game is changed, adding new levels of complexity to challenge students. The theme for 2019, the 30th year of the FIRST competition, is "Destination: Deep Space."
Local teams include Rockets of the Limestone County Career Technical Center; Dragon Slayers of Arab High School; Falcon Engineering of Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, Tenn.; Mech Tech, of A.P. Brewer High School in Sommerville; Mad Rockers of Bob Jones and James Clemens High Schools in Madison; Grissom Robotics of Grissom High School, Cyber Jagzz of Huntsville High School; Redstone Robotics of Lee and New Century High Schools and Golden Hurricanes of Columbia High School in Huntsville; and Rad Robotics, comprised of Madison city homeschooled students.
FIRST, which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," is a national organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen in Manchester, New Hampshire, to inspire young people to pursue careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math. NASA and its Robotics Alliance Project provide grants for high school teams and support for FIRST Robotics competitions around the country to address the critical national shortage in these fields.
For more information about FIRST programs and competitions, visit: http://www.firstinspires.org.

Article Source
​https://www.enewscourier.com/news/local_news/local-teams-to-participate-in-first-robotics-event/article_023b5566-1070-11e9-a557-67360ec59baf.html