BACKGROUND: Participation in the US Department of Agriculture's summer meals program is consistently lower compared to National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participation, even though the programs target the same population of children. The purpose of this study was to elucidate reasons for participation and nonparticipation in the summer meals…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] With the current growth in quantum information science and technology (QIST), there is an increasing need to prepare precollege students for postsecondary QIST study and careers. This mixed methods, explanatory sequential research…

DesignYOU! Code Camp is a grant-funded summer outreach camp designed to increase interest in coding and STEM careers among middle school students (6th - 8th graders) through an innovative, immersive summer camp experience. To make the concepts of coding more palpable, researchers incorporated fashion and retail allowing students to learn through…

Women and non-white racial and ethnic groups remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). To achieve a more diverse and equitable STEM workforce, the recruitment and retention of these historically marginalized communities in postsecondary education will also need to increase. Recently, the lens has turned to…

The Mississippi IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (Grant P20GM103476) launched the new Mississippi INBRE Outreach Scholars (MIOS) summer research program in 2019. The program was designed to offer students community outreach and research experiences related to…

Conducting K-12 outreach programs on university or college campuses focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is an essential part of the multifaceted effort for preparing future generations of engineers and scientists. However, the lack of structured frameworks to design and deliver activities and programs…

Students who develop interest in STEM careers by the eighth grade are more likely to pursue careers in STEM (Tai et al., 2006). Interest development can happen through a variety of sources, including informal learning experiences such as out of school programs and summer camps. This study looks at one such informal STEM experience, an engineering…

Dance as an art form continues to be undervalued; however, more exposure to dance at a young age can spur the next generation's enthusiasm for it. As an Associate Professor of Dance, my creative practice as research involves the application of creative engagement methods for young doers and viewers, while simultaneously enhancing their…

Bringing Research into the Classroom (BRIC) engaged rural K-12 science teachers in sustained, mentored science research. BRIC's goal was to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to provide high-quality biomedical research opportunities for K-12 students and teachers. Programmatic elements included authentic, place-based,…

Workforce shortages in the field of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have led to an increasing need for STEM outreach programs for high school students. This article presents an integrated approach to such efforts; government agencies, the host university, and local professional associations play meaningful roles in program design…

A synergetic approach to combine service learning at the university level with a high school outreach program is described. A holistic view is presented by discussing the importance of outreach and service learning, survey results, and outcomes. Overall, it was found that the unique program increased the self-efficacy (belief about one's…

University-led K-12 outreach programs are designed to expose students to a variety of fields and career choices, but the benefits and outcomes of these have not been well documented. Existing programs often range from short presentations to more extensive residential summer programs. Nationally, there are only a few university-led high school…

Health professions outreach programs are important avenues to increase interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). One aspect of many of these programs is anatomy, which can be challenging to teach due to its scope. Creative teaching methods, such as the incorporation of examples from pop culture, can help…

Despite ongoing efforts to increase diversity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEM) fields, disparities persist. MYHealth Summer Launch is a virtual, out-of-school STEM outreach program aiming to increase participation of historically marginalized students in health research to develop researcher identity and…

The Physics Laboratory of the Hellenic Open University has constructed a small scale and low cost air shower detector suitable for operation inside the classroom or school laboratory ([mu]Cosmics detector). In this work we present some of the educational activities foreseen with the [mu]Cosmics air shower detector, as well as the assessment of a…