Stem Camp Foundation

As of August 31, 2024, Ron Cougler, the co-founder and Executive Director of the STEM Camp Foundation, has officially retired, leaving behind a legacy of dedication to promoting STEM education across Canada. From the very beginning, Ron’s vision and passion for hands-on learning opportunities helped shape the foundation into a vital source of support for educators seeking to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators. His leadership has ensured that countless students have had access to enriched STEM experiences, particularly through the grants provided to elementary teachers for coding, robotics, and other critical STEM activities.

Throughout his tenure, Ron’s commitment to fostering curiosity and building essential skills in youth has not only benefited teachers and students but also strengthened the foundation’s reputation as a trusted resource in STEM education. His work has led to the foundation’s growth, helping it gain charitable status and expanding its ability to make a lasting impact. His efforts have empowered teachers to bring innovative projects into their classrooms, touching the lives of many young learners who are now better prepared for the challenges of the future.

As Ron steps into this new chapter, we extend our heartfelt thanks for his years of service and wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors. His contributions to the STEM Camp Foundation will be felt for years to come, and his legacy will continue to inspire both current and future educators. We wish him all the best as he moves forward, confident that his influence will remain a guiding force within the foundation and beyond.

Spring and fall 2024 grant applications are now closed. 

Elementary teachers interested in applying for STEM grants should watch our website for an announcement in January 2025 about STEM Camp Foundation grants.

PLEASE NOTE:  due to limited funding, only one application is allowed from an elementary school either in the FALL or in the SPRING; and a maximum of two grants will be given to one school in a two-year period.

STEM Camp Foundation is now open as of February 1, 2024, and receiving grant applications from elementary teachers for STEM programs.

Teachers from Kindergarten to Grade 8 are eligible to receive STEM grants for their school ranging from $100 to a maximum of $500 per school application. Our current policy is to help elementary teachers who have not yet received grants from our organization.

We have worked hard to streamline our application process to make it easy for teachers to apply for grants. Once you begin the online process, you will notice that we do have a set of Project Guidelines for you to follow to let us know how our grant worked at your school.

SCF is delighted to be starting our sixth year of our STEM Camp Foundation grant program; and we look forward to receiving your application.

SPRING 2024 Grant Applications are now closed.

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Grant Report: Fall 2023-2024
Indian Creek Road Public School
Lambton Kent District School Board

Indian Creek’s $500 STEM Camp Foundation Grant was used to buy Ultimaker Filament for use in our Math classes for their Tiny House Projects.

Grade 7/8 students have the opportunity to work on two different styles of models, exterior buildings – and interior floor plans – both of which required slightly different workflows.

This project is directly connected to a number of different strands in Math – most notably Geometry and Spatial Sense, Measurement and Number Sense and Numeration. Exposure to this kind of project resulted in increased engagement, especially amongst some students who find it difficult to engage in traditional Math activities. It also led to an uptick in cross-curricular skills, many of which will be particularly useful in high-school Technology and Engineering classes.

The Big Takeaway

Students can learn to use real-world blueprinting and CAD skills without having access to a 3D printer, but without the ability to prototype their models, it can be difficult to assess and evaluate structural issues and flaws in a design. Models can look fine on a screen when a user has the ability to zoom in and out of the environment. If the student has missed foundational connections between lines and vertices in a design, the resulting print will fail, so being able to iteratively prototype models to find these problems and produce solutions is an important part of the process when preparing students with 21st Century STEAM skills.

The STEM Camp Foundation grant allowed us the flexibility to access the resources we needed for this project. Indian Creek Road students have gained new skills related to design and manufacturing and are well-positioned to pass on their knowledge to future cohorts of students and peers. We are extremely appreciative of the STEM Camp Foundation’s ongoing commitment to the advancement of education and 21st Century Skills and the work they do to equip teachers with the tools that they need to impact their students.

Sincerely
Colin Pattison
Grade 7/8, Indian Creek Road Public School Teacher
February 2, 2024

We are very excited to let everyone know that we were granted charitable registration status in 2023 from the Canada Revenue Agency. This has opened the door for us to branch out and accept donations from individuals and business partners that will help us expand our grant program for elementary teachers.

Donors to STEM Camp Foundation will be able to be issued charitable donation receipts for income tax purposes. Our main goal each school year will be to promote our charity status and hence increase STEM Camp Foundation grants that we will be able to give to teachers.

Please note that, due to limited funding, only one application is allowed from an elementary school either in the FALL or in the SPRING.

Welcome back for the 2023-2024 school year!

STEM Camp Foundation is now open and receiving grant applications from elementary teachers for STEM programs for the first half of your new school year.

Teachers from Kindergarten to Grade 8 are eligible to receive STEM grants for their school ranging from $100 to a maximum of $500 per school application. Our preference this coming school year will be to help elementary teachers who have not yet received grants for our organization.

We have worked hard to streamline our application process to make it easy for teachers to apply for grants. Once you begin the online process, you will notice that we do have a set of Project Guidelines for you to follow to let us know how our grant worked at your school.

SCF is delighted to be starting our fifth year of our STEM Grant program; and we look forward to receiving your application.

Bluewater DSB
Grant: Fall 2021

Teachers Mary Jack and Natalie Patrick applied for a $500 grant purchase shovels and block makers for their Grade 2 and Kindergarten classes at Georgian Bay K-12 school in Meaford, ON. The photo below is SCF Executive Director Ron Cougler, posing outside the new school with Vice-Principal Julie Phillips in May 2022, on a school visit.

The STEM project supported at GBCS was to provide tools to create towers and igloos out of snow. This sounded like a great technology and engineering project for seven year olds, and one that STEM Camp Foundation was very pleased  to support.  In Mary’s words, “students will need to plan ahead, monitor weather conditions, learn about the states of matter and how temperature affects precipitation.  They will need to study structures, materials and use math skills to make their igloo stable . The Grade 2 students will ‘pay it forward’ when they make an oral presentation to the Kindergarten class about “building igloos that last”.

Waterloo Region DSB
Grant: Fall 2021

Lexington PS was granted $500 to participate in a STEM challenge in the Spring of 2022 using Makerspace technology. Grade 6 teacher, Leah Carter, indicated in her application that “Students will work collaboratively in teams to learn STEM concepts and participate in weekly build and design challenges. Engineering tasks involve a hands-on problem-solving project that students will work on as a team, with a given amount of time and materials.” This grant involves students with open-ended creativity, development of critical thinking skills, and intellectual flexibility. It will instill confidence and a sense of accomplishment in the students.

Thames Valley DSB
Grant: Fall 2021

Grade 7 Teacher, Richard Dew at White Oaks PS in London, Ontario applied for a $500 grant to teach coding of robots with Microbits to his class. His goal was to “bring higher thinking challenges to students in their Math and Science classes.” The Microbits purchased will help him teach engineering of small-scale wind turbines. Students working below grade level will also be helped with their studies through the use of Snap Circuits. Their STEM grant will allow for cross-curricular, differentiated instruction, that will allow students to grapple with real world, hands-on, applications in STEM concepts such as coding, circuitry and renewable energy.

Here are some great photos sent to STEM Camp Foundation by Richard.