Two people are looking at each other and shaking hands in front of shelves of supplies and green boxes.

Teichert Foundation supports STEM Education Outreach in Washoe County

By | Jul 15, 2025 | Donor Stories

The Teichert Foundation has generously provided support for DRI’s STEM Education Program to engage in a targeted STEM education outreach and engagement campaign in Washoe County, Nevada. This campaign will utilize three existing, bilingual Next Generation Science Standards aligned STEM kits that touch upon electricity, energy, and ecosystems topics, respectively. This campaign focuses on connecting with underserved PreK through third grade students and parents.

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Child playing with building and engineering toys on the green carpet.

DRI Invites Nevada Families to Science and Literacy Events for Pre-K Students

By | Mar 3, 2025 | Announcements

DRI’s STEM Education Program is holding free events focused on developing literacy through engaging science activities for Pre-K children 5 and younger throughout Nevada. Through hands-on experiments, story time, and interactive games, the events will bring ecology and electricity to life for the whole family. Each child will also receive free books to take home (while supplies last).

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Intern sitting on the ground and documenting items found on the beach with a white board, bucket lid, and phone.

DRI Internships Offer Nevada Students Experience with Research and Insight into STEM Careers

By | Jan 21, 2025 | Featured projects

This summer and fall, DRI brought twelve students from Nevada’s community and state colleges to the Las Vegas and Reno campuses for a paid, immersive research experience. Over the course of the 16-week program, students worked under the mentorship of DRI faculty members to learn about the process of using scientific research to solve real-world problems. This unique internship program welcomes all students, not only those pursuing majors in science, who are in their first or second year of enrollment at local state and community colleges.

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Two children at a table drawing a pathway with colored markers for the robot to follow.

Ray of Sunshine Ministry Uses Green Boxes to Bring STEM Education to Foster Children and Homeschool Families 

By | Nov 14, 2024 | Donor Stories

Tiffany Morales, Founder and President of Ray of Sunshine Ministry, is bringing STEM education to foster children and homeschool students in Southern Nevada. This year, Ray of Sunshine is utilizing DRI STEM Education Program's Green Boxes to provide STEM and robotics programs to these groups. Morales said, “With DRI’s service, we’re able to provide excellent robotics programs to homeschool groups and foster care facilities, absolutely free of cost to us and to them.”

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Monica Gehrig outside with arms crossed and smiling at the camera.

Meet Monica Gehrig

By | Oct 3, 2024 | Featured researchers

Monica Gehrig joined DRI in summer 2023. She works with the STEM Education Program to bring science education to Nevada schools and builds partnerships with organizations like the Atomic Museum and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Born and raised in Louisiana, she is now based at DRI’s Las Vegas campus. In this interview, Gehrig shares her passion for science education and why she considers it central to understanding the world, her circuitous path to DRI, and her many hobbies outside of work.

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Green suitcase with supplies and binders and handouts for a STEM lesson.

DRI’s STEM Education Program Receives DOE Grant to Support Nevada’s Clean Energy Workforce Pipeline

By | Sep 24, 2024 | Announcements

DRI’s STEM Education Program has received a grant from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management to support Nevada’s clean energy workforce pipeline. The nearly $2 million in funding will be used to prepare the next generation with the knowledge and technical skills needed for employment in fields such as clean energy, waste management, and environmental remediation.

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Monica Arienzo on the bank of a river taking a water sample with the STEM Education Program logo overlayed on the image.

NSHE Institute DRI Secures EPA Funding for Stem Education Program to Increase Water Workforce Pipeline in Nevada

By | Aug 20, 2024 | Announcements

The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) is thrilled to announce DRI has secured $1 million in grant funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Program. This funding will support DRI’s STEM Education Program, which aims to strengthen Nevada’s workforce in the drinking water and wastewater sectors.

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Monica Arienzo in a river looking at a water sample with a overlay of a Green Box kit to educators.

DRI’s STEM Education Team Receives EPA Grant to Support Microplastics Education for Nevada Students and Communities

By | Jul 24, 2024 | Announcements

The $100,000 grant will fund the production of additional educational kits known as Greenboxes that raise awareness and understanding of the prevalence and role of microplastics in the environment. In addition to the Greenboxes, the grant will also support community partnerships with The Nature Conservancy, the Walker Basin Conservancy, Get Outdoors Nevada, Sierra Nevada Journeys, and Envirolution.

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