Below are some examples of recent projects supported by 3M’s U.S. operations and/or, the U.S. based, 3M Foundation.
The Science House; Creating a Professional Home for Teachers
A combined 3M/3M Foundation grant helped create
Science Museum of Minnesota’s Science House: A Resource Center for Teachers.
Science House is a place where teachers can check out hands-on materials for
their students, engage in informal consultation and professional development
and learn from each other in a comfortable and creative environment. Ultimately,
it is a way to get more students interested in math and science by bringing new,
interesting resources into the classroom. For example, a comparative anatomy
class comes to life when students can see and compare skulls of various
animals.
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3M on display in new Smithsonian hall
Besides getting an up-close look at fascinating specimens from the world’s
seas, visitors to the
Smithsonian’s Sant Ocean Hall
will see an impressive exhibition of 3M products and technologies. 3M and the 3M Foundation have donated more than $1 million in cash, products and services to the ocean hall, which opened Sept. 27, 2008.
Most notable is the contribution of 1,000 gallons of 3M™ Novec™ 7100 Engineered Fluid for the hall’s giant squid display. The Novec fluid will also be used to store and preserve more than 100 other marine species exhibits. In addition, the hall will contain an assortment of 3M digital signage products, banner materials and touch screens to inform and direct visitors. The company also donated 3M™ Colorquartz™ Products for the flooring.
3M has been a strong supporter of the Smithsonian Institution. Previous
donations include $1.1 million in cash and products for the National Museum of
the American Indian and touch screens for the Museum.
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3M and Discovery Education sponsor a premier young scientist competition for middle-school students nationwide
3M has signed on as the title sponsor of the
Discovery Education/3M Young Scientist Challenge
through 2010. 3M joins forces with Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, to build up and strengthen the next generation of American scientists through an innovative, interactive science program that is open to every middle-school student in the United States.
In addition, 3M is providing 200 schools across the country access to Discovery Education Science, a comprehensive multimedia resource that supplements existing school curriculums with high-quality digital science content in a flexible online format.
The Young Scientist Challenge, celebrating its 10th anniversary, is the nation’s premier science competition for middle-schoolers. It targets students in the years when research indicates that their interest in science begins to fade and “pulls out all the stops” to encourage them to explore scientific concepts and creatively communicate their findings.
The Young Scientist Challenge uses the Internet to reach every middle-school student in America. And this year, for the first time ever, all fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are able to make their case directly for why they should be named “America’s Top Young Scientist.”
A student’s innovative use of everyday technology to communicate scientific knowledge is a vital component of the 2008 Discovery Education/3M Young Scientist Challenge. The competition’s underlying philosophy is that scientific knowledge is most valuable and effective when shared. As part of their entry, Young Scientist competitors will create short videos demonstrating their understanding of a scientific concept, modeling the same techniques that creative educators across the country use when they employ digital media to convey critical or complex concepts to students.
“3M’s sponsorship of the Young Scientist Challenge aligns two powerful brands that are deeply committed to educating the next generation of scientific thinkers,” said Bill Goodwyn, president of Discovery Education. “Together, 3M and Discovery Education hope to nurture and encourage middle-school students’ interest in scientific inquiry as they approach high school and college.”
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Audubon Society Program Engages Arkansas Students in Community Stewardship
In 2007, 3M donated $10,000 to the Arkansas Audubon Society through its 'Common Ground' program. The program works with teachers and students in selected public schools in Pulaski County to engage the students in self-directed projects that link science, technology and positive community stewardship. The programs goals include:
- engaging teachers and students in hands-on field science and technology;
- enabling environmental science, service learning and youth leadership;
- integrating state school standards into project efforts.
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School District of Menomonie Earth Day Challenge
The School District of the Menomonie Area in Wisconsin has placed emphasis on service learning projects that involve K-12 students and environmental education. These projects allow students to learn about environmental issues and participate in meaningful activities, which improve the natural environment, both locally and globally. After choosing a project of interest, elementary, middle and high school students learned about their project through hands-on classroom activities. On Earth Day, students spent the afternoon working on their projects throughout the community. Projects included: lakeshore clean-ups, school yard clean-ups, city parks clean-ups, wildlife shrub/tree planting, wetland restoration projects, oak regeneration plantings, and wildlife nesting boxes.
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Friends of the Mississippi River Grant
A grant to the Washington County Landowner Outreach and Education Program in Minnesota will enable landowners to take tangible steps toward protecting and restoring their land. The Friends of the Mississippi River work to foster a broader and more inclusive discussion of land use and planning issues and the reasons for land protection.
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A Grant to The Nature Conservancy Preserves Land in Alabama
A $1.5 million grant over 3 years (2007-2009) will allow for land acquisition in the Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve as part of the Paint Rock River Watershed in Northeast Alabama. The land acquisition along with public lands and partnerships with local farmers will protect the waters of the Paint Rock River. Restoration of these lands will help improve water quality, buffer the river from run-off and increase habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.
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Environmental Lessons for Teachers
Teachers from 3M communities across the country attend the Keystone Science
Institute in Colorado. There they expand their understanding of environmental
sciences and bring this information back into their schools and classrooms.
Through hands-on laboratory and field activities, educators learn how to best
explore current environmental issues for their own classroom setting and
student interests. Last summer, 39 grade 7 - 8 teachers participated in this
program.
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3M Foundation Grant Promotes Engineering Student Retention at the University of Minnesota
A $176,705 grant to the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology will
help support the
Institute's Center for Educational Programs in the Institute of Technology which encourage women and other minorities to pursue careers in engineering. The grant will fund a number of new initiatives including a 10-week summer program for incoming Information Technology freshmen; a summer career exploration program for high school girls; the development of a new introductory engineering course directed at freshmen seeking degrees in Information Technology; and enhancing Project Lead the Way, an engineering curriculum directed at middle and high school students.
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Supporting Project HOPE
For 50 years, Project HOPE has rushed medical aid to disaster victims, such as the survivors of the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. For over 35 of those years, 3M has been at its side, donating cash, medical supplies and other products. Since 1970, 3M has donated more than $10 million, including almost $2.5 million in cash and $7.6 million in products, to the organization. Project HOPE answered the call for help at home when Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita devastated the Central Gulf Coast.
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