Abstract 23585 - Building and Growing the STEM with LM Program - 23585

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to managing its responsibilities associated with the legacy of World War II and the Cold War. This legacy includes radioactive and chemical waste, environmental contamination, and hazardous material at over 100 sites across the country. DOE's Office of Legacy Management (LM) was formally established as a new DOE element on December 15, 2003. LM is responsible for ensuring that DOE's postclosure responsibilities are met and for providing DOE programs for long-term surveillance and maintenance, records management, benefits continuity, property management, land use planning, and community assistance. LM recognizes the need to have an educated, inclusive, and diverse workforce that is prepared to continue the management and long-term stewardship responsibilities at their legacy sites to ensure the protection of human health and the environment for future generations in perpetuity. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and computer science education are critically important in the development of that desired workforce. In 2018, the US Department of Education outlined a federal 5-year strategy to provide all Americans with lifelong access to quality STEM education to ensure that the United States is a global leader in high-quality technical education. To support this nationwide effort, LM launched the STEM with LM program in April 2020 with the unveiling of a new web page that filled a need for readily available, free, curriculum-based education programs and materials that are interdisciplinary, fun, and hands-on to teach students real-world applications of STEM concepts. Before 2020 and before the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, few self-guided STEM activities were available on the LM web page. In just 2 years, the STEM with LM program has rapidly grown its educational materials, outreach opportunities, and future-focused goals. The STEM with LM program web page now features 17 self-guided activities, four videos, and two brochures. A highlight of the STEM with LM program is the award-winning 'Radiation and You' video that was posted on February 28, 2022. Educational web content will regularly be added and improved upon year after year. The STEM with LM program hosts a regular Community of Practice, which encourages all LM staff to share ideas, outreach opportunities, and potential improvements to the program. Through this collaboration, LM staff supported more than a dozen in-person STEM events in spring 2022. The STEM with LM program is actively supporting STEM-sation events that are part of a cooperative agreement between LM and the Navajo Nation Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Department. In 2022, Navajo Nation STEM-sation organizers asked LM's STEM team to take a larger role in the planning of upcoming events. This development demonstrates the trust and commitment the LM STEM team has shown to the Navajo Nation-based STEM-sation team. The STEM with LM program continues to be an LM mission-driven effort that adds immense value to the partners, audiences, and communities that LM serves. The program's future focus includes expanding outreach on the Navajo Nation; collaborating with DOE's Arctic Energy Office to broaden the STEM with LM program across 13 Native nation schools within the Amchitka Island, Alaska, community; sponsoring STEM clubs for elementary school students; and aligning its educational materials with Next Generation Science Standards to provide quality educational materials to teachers. LM will also continue to grow partnerships at the DOE Headquarters level and with other DOE program offices. The STEM with LM program is an emerging leader in federally supported STEM education. The program's progress has applicable lessons and implications for any organization looking to build or expand upon its own STEM program. (authors)