Pre-College Education

gidaa STEM Programs

Sharing in the goal of interesting and retaining Native American students in STEM subjects, the CCEFP, NSF's National Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics, and the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College organize a number of activities for K-12 students under the umbrella name of gidakiimanaaniwigamig (Our Earth Lodge in Anishinaabe).

Initiatives include: monthly day-camps offering students in grades 3-10 culturally relevant study along with a mix of lab and field science;  STEM days, an after-school program targeting under-performing or at-risk children in grades K-8; and the gidaa odaangiina anaangoog (Shooting for the Stars) Robotics Program which engages students in work with Lego and other hands-on building kits and software.

[Project Leaders: Alyssa Burger, UMN; Holly Pellerin, Cloquet, MN]

Native American FIRST Robotics Teams: Building on the experiences of the 2008 and 2009 Minnesota FIRST Robotics Regional in which two Native American teams (Team 2510 from Cloquet and Team 3036 from Deer River) participated under the mentorship of the CCEFP, the goal of this project is to each year increase the number of Native American FIRST teams engaged in FIRST competitions, beginning at the Minnesota regional level.

[Project Leader: Will Durfee, UMN]