KSL Founder’s Grant opens doors to Science Field Trips and improves access to STEM Programs for Kids

Since 2010, Kids Science Las has served hundreds of schools and well over 100,000 students with the #1 STEM Program for kids in Elementary School. When Chicago Teachers are searching for “science field trips near me”, they often are also managing tougher budget circumstances that make the coolest places like Kids Science Labs unreachable.

This academic year was especially hard, as post-Covid-19 funds were removed from many district budgets, causing a squeeze. We created the Founder’s Grant, a $10,000 stipend, intended to offset the costs for up to 20 elementary schools to achieve one of two explicit goals:

• Enrich K - 4th Grade Physical Science, Earth Science, Life Science, or Engineering education, using one of our award-winning STEM Labs, where we send a teacher, science materials, and lead a NGSS lesson for the day at your school. [on-campus]

• Boost K -4th Grade access to at least one (1) NGSS Field Trip at Kids Science Labs during the 2024-2025 Academic Year [at Kids Science Labs]

Please complete the brief application below and tell us a bit about your school or classroom. We request limiting initial responses to 100 words, and include which grade(s), # of classrooms, and desired NGSS science topic that we can help you with.

Kids Science Labs has provided the best hands-on science field trips to PreK-8th grade students for 15 years. Our Founder’s Grant program is intended to be used both by our existing school partners who would like to participant and offset the cost of additional programs, as well as school classrooms that have never been able to participate at KSL.

Chat live with a member of our Customer Engagement Team on LiveChat NOW to learn more.

Science Field Trips @ KSL Build Confidence in STEM for Programs for Kids

STEM Field Trips to Kids Science Labs are a perfect way to boost motivation and hands-on engagement in K - 5th classrooms.

Teachers need support in the classroom with science, so our STEM Labs and School Field Trips are designed to maximize learning and provide real hands-on science activities that kids love.

• Our Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Field Trips are designed to motivate student learning with questions that are relevant to their everyday life, while centered around real experiments that encourage and unlock their curiosity.

Key Features of our Field Trips:

• 90-minute Awesome Experience at our world class science center

• Led by our experienced and engaging science teachers

• Hands-on, NGSS-aligned STEM activities

• Chaperones and Adults are Free (we only charge for student attendance)

• Founder’s Grant successful applicants receive one-time awards of up to $500 to offset the cost of field trips.

• Teachers may choose from any of our eligible NGSS Field Trips, including Magnetic Forces, Chemical Reactions, Modeling Matter, Vision & Light, Properties of Materials, and Push & Pull Forces.

Our Chicago Schools are often using Amplify Science / Skyline Science, and so our science field trips are perfectly matched for those NGSS lessons. As you know, there are typically 3 -4 key NGSS per grade, each with some variations. At Kids Science Labs, our school field trips are a critical part of supporting teachers and students

Students on a field trip, visit our beautiful HQ in South Loop and experience the most engaging hands-on science available in the world. Our HQ, shown below, has 8,000sf of space and can serve your entire school with STEAM fun.

What does a Field Trip to Kids Science Labs look like?

How much does a Field Trip to Kids Science Labs cost?

Our Founder’s Grant for this school year was originally made at $10,000, with the express use of funds to offset the cost of STEM Programs for Kids at Kids Science Labs. So many schools have asked us for Field Trip support, that we are providing funds that are awarded as follows:

1. Each school may be awarded up to $500 (20+ schools can participate)

2. Funds must be used to either offset the cost of a Field Trip to Kids Science Labs, or a STEM Lab on-campus at your school. Funds may not be used for bus fees at this time, as that is between each district and the bus companies.

3. Student classrooms must be K - 5th Grade for the initial funding awards.

4. Field Trips and STEM Labs must be taken between January - April of this calendar year

5. Typical awards are 50% the cost of any of the aforementioned programs, up to $500 for as many schools as are able to participate, to make the cost of Field Trips attainable for school budgets. Schools with large student populations may request exceptions for larger awards beyond $500.

6. Once funds are awarded and allocated, this year’s Founders Grant will end. There is no expectation that additional funds will be provided. Schools are encouraged to apply immediately, and we will respond on a first come, first serve basis once applications are received.

7. Founder’s Grant Funds are directly paid to Kids Science Labs to offset the cost of whichever STEM Programs for Kids are selected, and remaining balance can be paid via check, school Purchase Order (P.O.) or using our CPS Vendor # 15968.

A School Field Trip to Kids Science Labs typically costs $15/student, so the Founders Grant, if awarded, will cut that in half for all eligible schools. A School Field Trip for at least 65 students will receive the full 100% grant if awarded ($500).

A STEM Lab on-campus typically costs $500, where we send our teachers and materials to your school to visit four (4) elementary classrooms (100 students) at a school for a day. A Founder’s Grant will bring the cost of this visit to $2.50 per child.

Comparing Kids Science Labs Field Trip to Museum Field Trip when considering STEM Programs for Kids?

Museums are awesome and we hope each of our school partners does at least one STEM Field Trip to the Field Museum, Museum of Science & Industry (MSI.org) and the Nature Museum in Chicago. Let’s brag a bit though, as a Kids Science Labs experience just hits different for kids and teachers, as we actually teach over 400 STEM Programs for Kids.

Our entire program is built around offering kids inquiry-based class experiences with real experiments and no demonstrations. We also use creative design to amplify the learning for students, as they go beyond conceptual understanding to actually applying the science to make something useful in each class.

While our primary STEM Programs for Kids are for elementary students, we also provide

• afterschool programs,

• summer camps,

• spring break camp and winter break camp, and

• a wonderful opportunity for a kid’s birthday party.