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ELC AWARDED $20,000 GRANT FROM BRADENTON KIWANIS
FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SECOND STEAM MACHINE
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Palmetto, Florida, November 26, 2018 – The Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County (ELC) has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Bradenton Kiwanis Foundation to create a second STEAM Machine mobile classroom as part of the ELC’s successful STEAM Machine early learning program.
The new STEAM Machine will be constructed from a school bus donated to the ELC by the School District of Manatee County. The bus will be transformed by students at Manatee Technical College using building materials and an exterior wrap funded by the Bradenton Kiwanis grant.
Paul Sharff, ELC Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our organization is so grateful for the support of the Bradenton Kiwanis Foundation. This investment will allow us to introduce even more Manatee County students to this valuable STEAM learning tool. When students participate in activities that combine different elements of STEAM, they develop problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, planning, and observation skills under the umbrella of the creative process.”
The STEAM Machine program is available to all VPK classrooms in Manatee County. The STEAM Machine visited 58 classrooms serving 826 four-year-olds in the 2017/18 school year. The program anticipates visiting 60 classrooms in the current 2018/19 school year.
STEAM curriculum focuses on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. The ELC’s STEAM Machine exploratory curriculum engages early learners in real projects within authentic environments and lays the academic groundwork for math and science.
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The Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County, Inc. is a multi-service agency dedicated to helping children develop skills that they will need to be successful in school and life. The agency’s focus is on high quality school readiness opportunities for all children and their families, understanding that it is in the first years of life that a child’s future educational success is determined and the critical role of parents, as their child’s first and most important teacher. To learn more about Coalition’s services, please visit www.elc-manatee.org or call (941) 757-2900, extension 212.
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