2016 event proceeds totaling $501,000 were distributed to Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance and Fab Lab Tulsa. Educational programs supported by these funds are projected to reach some 100,000 students in northeastern Oklahoma with inspirational and potentially life-changing STEM education content.

A portion of Flight Night funds are earmarked for professional development scholarships and ‘Science of Flight’ as well as other STEM-based classroom grants for Oklahoma teachers. Also ‘STEM Innovator’ cash awards will be awarded for outstanding leadership and excellence in STEM at the administrator, high-school, middle-school, and elementary-school levels.

Flight Night support includes additional equipment for and ongoing operation of a unique mobile ‘fab lab,’ which hit the road at the start of the 2015 school year, featuring multiple experiential learning labs, digital fabrication tools, such as 3D printers, laser cutters and a three-axis mill. The unit moves from school to school in a custom-built, high-tech trailer, with no cost to students or schools.

Proceeds finance expansion of Oklahoma’s only drone challenge, with this year’s effort set to involve more students and educators in a competition that rewards student-built flying machines for performance in maneuverability, speed and retrieval courses.

Flight Night continues to make possible a hands-on “STEM Exploratorium” led by STEM experts from around the region to help kids see the connection between mastering the STEM sciences and future career success; and roughly 20 “STEM Access” events for grades K-12, focusing on creative thinking, problem-solving and awareness of STEM careers.

 

 

 

The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) is a collaborative dream of more than sixty STEM stakeholders from across the great state of Oklahoma. Funded through the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, Oklahoma Innovation Institute, or OII, the Alliance is designed to function as a convener, facilitator, collaborator, and umbrella organization to build and stimulate STEM activities in the Tulsa Region, ultimately acting as the catalyst for continued job-growth in Green Country.

 

The mission of Fab Lab Tulsa is to better our community by assuring access to the 21st century tools, equipment and resources. Education programs at Fab Lab Tulsa focus on STEM education, building skills in core subjects, applied problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.