With the strange transition to online learning and less in-person STEAM activities happening, we are excited to announce that RAIN has helped to fund a new type of education. The Bisbee Science Lab is using their grant to create a mobile science lab! This lab will travel throughout Cochise County, bringing informal STEAM education to

You have probably heard about RAIN in Cochise County if you are a part of the STEM world. They are an organization that works to fund informal STEM education opportunities all around the state in different rural Arizona communities, and we have one here in our county. The Rural Activation and Innovation Network serves only

Celebrate the New Digs on Saturday February 1, 2020, 3pm-5pm Queen Mine Tour Building 478 N. Dart Bisbee, AZ The Bisbee Science Lab announced a major re-design, re-location, and grand re-opening of its innovative Bisbee Science Lab (BSL). Exactly one year from the initial opening on Bisbee’s iconic Main St, BSL has taken up residence

Looking back on the year, Navopache wanted to share what they have accomplished, their next steps, and what they are most looking forward to in 2020. What have you enjoyed the most? Our greatest success has been the opportunity that we’ve had to support new STEM projects in almost every community of our region. From

The Cochise County RIC has funded multiple mini grants over the past year.  Grants that were awarded have been widely distributed across the County and have included many organizations/individuals that have not previously received funding from us.  Additionally, the Cochise County RIC was able to support the Bisbee Science Lab which was recognized in September

We wanted to learn the impact of all the communities we serve around Arizona, and how effective our model has been implementing STEM opportunities in rural communities. Verde Valley STREAM Council have been hard at work and wanted to share some of their accomplishments of 2019. What all has been achieved? The STREAM Council sponsored

The Graham/Greenlee Rural Innovation Council (RIC) had a very active year. They funded 12 projects totaling $51,539.58 and provided travel funds for 5 educators to attend the Arizona Science Teachers Association annual conference. They hosted 2 community forums, one at the Blue Door Sanctuary in Clifton (Greenlee County) and the other at the Eastern Arizona

Given the fast pace at which our country continues to transform in technology and growth, wouldn’t it have been awesome to have had a club that helped to inspire you to think innovatively back when you were in school? That’s exactly what the Taylor School District was hoping to accomplish when they partnered with RAIN

How do you get kids excited about STEAM? Make a competition with it out of trading cards. From October 7th-November 11th, 3rd-5th grade students at Camp Verde Unified School District will be able to collect playing cards that are hidden throughout the City. Science Happens Here is an interactive game where students go by a

The Bisbee Science Exploration & Research Center (BSERC), in collaboration with Central School Project, posted its first call for proposals, encouraging science and artistic-minded persons to work independently or collaboratively to design, build, and install an interactive STEAM exhibit on the theme of FOOD. Unsure where exactly this proposal topic would lead, they were excited

Members of the Sustainability Alliance of Arizona founded a Gardens for Humanity program in schools around the Verde Valley. This year long program, Exploring Ecosystems Through Gardens and Art, works with five schools in the area to offer art and environmental education through gardening and art classes. Twice a week, the group meets to work

The University of Arizona Navajo Extension has started a community Fab Lab with the Navajo 4-H Club.  4-H is said to give youth an extra edge by allowing for opportunities to develop leadership, responsibility, and other life skills. Through their research based curriculum and University support, 4-H opens a world of possibilities to youth and

The Northland Pioneer College worked to create a Kids College program to teach youth more about problem-solving and STEM.  Students ages 8-14 in the Navajo and Apache counties now have the opportunity to participate in Crack the Code. The program is run during the summer while the students are out of school and offers them

The Eastern Arizona Science Initiative recently acquired the StarLab Planetarium. This 22 foot inflatable planetarium allows for people to experience a universe of their own. With a height of 15 feet and a diameter of 22 feet, the Star Lab could hold up to 50 people and will feature exploration software and several short films

Studio 128 continues to grow and offer more resources in the Wilcox area. The space began a couple of years back as a makerspace for community members. This provided a space for anyone in the community to utilize as a resource for computer equipment usage, room for hosting a meeting, etc.  Since then, the program

By: Graham Bosch Rural communities in the United States are falling behind in workforce development and student achievement, according to recent research by the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity. A local educational partnership is looking to create positive change by bringing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) resources, experiences and programmingto rural Arizonans. In 2016,

In October of 2017, the volunteer run Heber-Overgaard Library sought support to develop a mini makerspace with computers, lego products, and a 3D printer. These were augmented by donated hand tools and scrap materials for projects. Then, in February of 2018, they extended their efforts to include astronomy programs that aligned to the local Astronomy

In order to bring more resources to their students, San Simon Elementary School started an afterschool STEM Club called The Cooler than Absolute Zero Science Club. With a population of around 165, San Simon is a remote district 40 miles east of Wilcox with one K-12 school district shared with the neighboring community, Bowie, that

Eastern Arizona Science Initiative (EASI) is an organization that focuses on bringing more STEM resources to everyone, and in 2019 they worked to develop an Archery Summer Science Camp for 6th- 9th grade students in Safford, AZ. What did the program do? The EASI Summer program taught students safety first and then about the specific

In Jan 2017, the Apache Behavioral Health Services with support from the NAIC created an after school program around engineering and robotics. The STEM program included an assortment of activities including robotics, 3D modeling, 3D printing, programming small devices, and microcomputers. The program reaches kids from first grade through eighth grade.  Why it’s important? Robotics

The Safford Friends of the Library started a Fun with Math and Science Program at the Safford City Library. This program is a free, six-week program for 3-5 year olds and their parents. The program introduces fundamental concepts of math and science by using play and books. Fun with Math and Science is also full

It has been said countless times, but gardening is a great activity in which youth can learn and participate. Not only does gardening engage all senses, it also encourages healthy eating and has been linked to the improvement of life development skills. The Show Low Garden Club introduced a program that exposed children to the

Most people don’t think of environmental stewardship when debating STEM curriculum, but environmental science and conservation is a huge realm within the STEM community. Hoping to merge these two within the community the Verde Valley Rural Innovation Council (VVRIC) convened regional community environmental groups-Friends of the Verde River, Sedona Sustainability Alliance, and Verde Institute to

Finding unconventional partners working together is not uncommon in rural southeast Arizona. The Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape, established in 2015, worked to bring together a variety of local, state, and Federal partners to tackle the critical land use and resource issues in the region, including water quantity and quality; long-term agricultural viability; native habitat restoration;

We are excited to announce the release of the final report from the Rural Informal STEM Conference of 2018. Fully 25% of youth live in rural areas, yet they are often invisible when STEM educational policies and programs are designed. Americans spend only 18.5% of their waking hours in K-12 schooling, leaving huge opportunities for STEM learning

One of the many wonders in Cochise County includes Kartchner Caverns in Benson, AZ. These caverns were undiscovered until 1978 and still remained private knowledge for 10 years after until the Arizona State Parks purchased them in 1988 for public use. Today, they are carefully preserved with visitors required to participate in guided tours with

In line with their mission to provide members of the general public and youth with an educational opportunity to learn about aviation, EAA Chapter 1044 in Navajo County recently developed an experimental airplane building project in Heber-Overgaard.  The group  began their Youth Education Program in 2016 by offering aviation scholarships. So far they have awarded 5

In Graham County, one mom decided to do everything in her power to bring STEM programming to her 3rd grader and the rest of his class. After discovering the FIRST Lego League Jr. program, Wendy Millar reached out the Rural Activation and Innovation Network (RAIN) for help in funding the program. FIRST Lego League is

In many rural communities, it can be difficult to find space to meet or work on projects. In order to better meet the needs of the community, the West Sedona Makerspace was formed. The goal was to make an area accessible to any community member to use for projects, meetings, and professional or community development

The Verde Institute partnered with Grand Canyon Youth, NRCD Environmental Education Center, AZ State Parks Family Campout program, and Audubon Arizona to bring the VRI Macroinvertebrate Sampling program to conduct a Macroinvertebrate Assessment. Macroinvertebrates are organisms that live underwater in our streams and rivers, lack a backbone, and can be seen by the naked eye.

Over the summer The Tonto Creek Camp started a Summer STEAM Camp in the City of Payson. This event was created to allow students access to different science, technology, engineering, arts, and math activities as well as give them hands-on activities that take them into the natural world and helps them “unplug”. What did they

In October 2017, the Show Low Public Library became a collaborator of the community by launching a public makerspace. In March of 2018, the library created a set of astronomy-oriented grab and go activities, programming and resources supporting their NASA community grant. These grab and go kits allowed students to explore the world of space

With Cochise County students out of school on Fridays, Huachuca City Library wanted to offer more resources to keep children engaged and inspired. In order to do so, they partnered with AZ Rural Activation & Innovation Network (RAIN) to get funding for STEAM Fridays.   How did they do it? The Library now offers the

Wanting to bring more STEM resources to the Sierra Vista Community, the Patterson Observatory and University of Arizona Southern Foundation collaborated to place a mini science center in an unused section of the Patterson Observatory.   How did they do it? By partnering with The Huachuca Astronomy Club, several local scouting groups, home school groups,

Hoping to educate students on Hydroponics and gardening, the Native American Ministry Schools applied for a grant through the Arizona Rural Activation and Innovation Network (RAIN) to host a workshop and develop a hydroponics garden. The workshop was offered in the White Mountains and developed a hydroponics garden through a multigenerational, student led and teacher-coached

Eastern Arizona College, in collaboration with Gila Valley Healthcare, debuted the Gila Valley Health and STEAM Festival to the Gila Valley region in 2017 and continues to support its presence in 2019. This event hosts over 1,800 people with activities throughout the day, centered around science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.   What was

In June 2018, Camp Verde became one of the world’s 20th International Dark Sky Communities. With this designation, Camp Verde created the Dark Sky Committee to begin planning and hosting the Inaugural Camp Verde Dark Sky Festival. Partnerships with the Verde Valley Archaeology Center, Astro Verde Astronomy Club, Camp Verde Days Inn, Lowell Observatory, and

Duncan High School’s after-school engineering club along with the Willcox STEM club partnered up to utilize STEM practices to compete in a NASA challenge. The NASA Design Challenge tasked participants with designing an International Space Settlement. How did they do it? In partnership with Duncan Unified Schools, the Town of Duncan and Greenlee County School

The Copper Queen Library in Bisbee (pop. 5,300) collaborated with Cochise County and the State Library systems and developed a public makerspace for the community. With this collaboration they were able to bring an important STEM asset to a rural community. Bisbee residents now have access to a STEM book series available for early childhood

The Navapache STEM Coalition inspired their local community to get behind STEM programming with a project that supplied Grab-and-Go STEM kits throughout the Navapache area. Through partnerships between the Navapache STEM coalition, the White Mountain Nature Center, Northland Pioneer College Kids College, Show Low Schools, Mountain Christian School, Sequoia School, City of Pinetop-Lakeside, and City

Local First Arizona Foundation, an organization that works to build opportunities in rural Arizona, partnered with Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District and local businesses to get students excited about STEM. For eight weeks, 3rd-6th grade classrooms across four schools participated in Science Happens Here, a scavenger hunt card game with a Grand Prize opportunity to conduct

In rural Arizona, community access to computers and media equipment can be a challenge. In the town of Willcox, students and adults alike were struggling to access and understand media programs that had become necessary in building and promoting their hobbies or businesses. In hopes of fostering more education in the community (population 3,500), Dr.

  The White Mountain Nature Center (WMNC) wanted to inspire more students to focus on both the environment and STEM outside of the typical school day. WMNC, in collaboration with the City of Pinetop and Navapache Innovation Council (NAIC) members from the education community, worked to incorporate these learning opportunities into their organization by offering

The Safford and Thatcher Boy Scouts were tasked with infusing more STEM programming into the Scout experience. Seeing an opportunity to do so with their annual Pinewood Derby, they incorporated engineering and math into the event and brought science and competition together for a unique STEM experience. With the help of the Arizona Rural Activation

Yavapai College wanted to bring more science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) activities to the entire community of Clarkdale to show citizens that STEAM can be fun and accessible to all. In collaboration with state, university, county, and local assets the Yavapai College presented Xplorology, a large-scale public STEAM event in the city of

https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/schools/inquiring-minds-young-leaders-tour-lavender-pit-as-part-of/article_24ace3f0-ff6b-11e8-ae36-9bdd3cb122eb.html

Snowflake RAIN partner uses Balloon Festival to highlight STEM Snowflake Hot Air Balloon story

A National Science Foundation Funded research program, Rural Activation and Innovation Network (RAIN), has awarded the Navapache Innovation Council a four-year $200,000 grant. The grant will support Informal (outside of school’s regular programs) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math experiences. Read More

Press Release—As the 2016 presidential election has brought newfound attention to rural areas, a new 50-state report urges state and federal leaders to make rural students and their communities a far greater priority. The new edition of Why Rural Matters, from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Rural School and Community Trust, provides an overall “priority” ranking of the

Thatcher — As part of Eastern Arizona College’s ongoing mission and purpose to provide services that meet the community’s diverse cultural and economic needs, as well as activities and programs, which promote general student welfare and foster life-long learning, the college has recently entered into a new partnership to bring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and

COTTONWOOD – The Rural Innovation and Activation Network (RAIN) grant will allow the Verde Valley’s Rural Innovation Center help promote science, technology, engineering and math through informal STEM education. The funding amount is $50,000 per year over the next four years. Read More...