STEM education

Wiesbaden – October 29, 2026 -- Procter & Gamble has awarded a total of €6,000 to three Hessian school teams at the 20th P&G MINT Award, plus a €500 special prize for an inclusive project.

Three schools share €6,000 for project development

The winners are the Weibelfeldschule in Dreieich with "Fly with Science Air", an experimental world tour, and the Grimmelhausen-Gymnasium in Gelnhausen with the outdoor escape game "Let's MINT Escape". The third winner is the vocational school in Dillenburg, with "Growing Together: Smart Greenhouse", an intelligently controlled greenhouse. The jury cited creativity, practical relevance and clear communication of STEM content. The teams will use the prize money to develop their projects further.

BEAVERTON, Ore. – – October 28, 2026 -- Vernier Science Education has launched the Go Direct Materials Test Frame, a tabletop system priced at an introductory $3,495 that measures forces up to ±4,000 N in college teaching laboratories.

Test frame measures force to 0.18 N and displacement to 0.51 μm

The system records real-time force data up to ±4,000 N and displacement across roughly 0–23 cm. Resolution is 0.18 N for force and 0.51 μm for displacement. Adaptable features accommodate specimens longer than 60 cm.

It supports multiple-station setups, so several student groups can run their own experiments at once. Students analyze data in the Vernier Graphical Analysis app on mobile devices, Chromebooks or computers.

Washington – October 15, 2026 -- The National Park Foundation (NPF) has awarded more than $1 million in grants to support over 20 projects that bring immersive science learning to middle and high school students in national parks across the U.S.

The grants fund NPF's Field Science program for the 2026-27 school year. Projects combine classroom-aligned engagements, extended in-park experiences, out-of-school-time programs and community involvement. NPF developed them with parks, local schools, community centers and science education programs.

St. Paul – October 15, 2026 -- 3M and Discovery Education named 8th grader Raji Doshi of Farmington, Connecticut, the winner of the 2026 3M Young Scientist Challenge, awarding her a $25,000 cash prize and the title of "America's Top Young Scientist." Doshi, who attends Stanford Online High School, won with a natural algae-and-aragonite system designed to counter ocean acidification.

Doshi beat nine other finalists in final events at 3M headquarters

Doshi competed through the summer against nine other finalists, ages 11 to 14. She secured the win during final Challenge events at 3M global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Oct. 12 and 13, 2026.

Indianapolis – September 14, 2026 -- Project Lead The Way (PLTW) has won two categories in the Educators Pick Best of STEM® 2026 Awards, with PLTW Engineering named "Best of STEM: Engineering Education" and PLTW Gateway recognized as "Best of STEM: Hands-on Learning for Middle School."

Judging panel comprises certified science and STEM educators exclusively

The awards program, operated with MCH Strategic Data, the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), and the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), is the only STEM education awards initiative judged entirely by certified classroom teachers, specialists, and district leaders. Entries undergo rigorous evaluation for classroom suitability before recognition.

Dahlem-Marienau – September 13, 2026 -- One in four 15-year-olds in Germany now fails to meet basic science competency standards, according to the newly released PISA 2026 study, which recorded the country's worst results since the assessment began. In response, private boarding school Schule Marienau in Lower Saxony is investing roughly €800,000 in a new STEM facility designed to reverse the decline in scientific literacy among students.

PISA 2026 data show only 10% of German students rank as high performers in science

The study found science performance at an all-time low nationally, with the top-performing segment stagnant while the broader student base loses ground. Marienau's leadership frames the results as a structural problem rather than statistical noise, arguing that schools have shifted too far from applied, problem-solving education toward rote knowledge transfer.