Sharks Foundation's $40K Grant Empowers Girls in STEM Through Hands-On Learning
The Sharks Foundation has awarded a $40,000 grant to Scientific Adventures for Girls (SAfG), a Bay Area organisation working to break down barriers for young girls in STEM. The funding will support a 27-week afterschool programme at Washington Elementary in Berkeley, along with 900 summer STEM kits for hands-on learning.
The grant aligns with the foundation's February focus on education, aiming to boost confidence and skills in science, technology, engineering, and maths for girls as young as transitional kindergarten.
The $40,000 Community Assist Grant will fund a full afterschool STEM programme at Washington Elementary. It covers planning, instruction, teacher training, and coordination over 27 weeks. SAfG plans to use similar strategies—school partnerships, volunteer recruitment, and scalable teaching materials—to expand to 20 more Bay Area schools in the long term.
Part of the grant also paid for 900 summer STEM kits, assembled by Team Teal volunteers at SAP Center on February 12. Each kit contains three activities: testing shark skin hydrodynamics, building mini hockey rink models, and exploring shark senses. The projects are designed for girls and their families to complete together, encouraging STEM discussions beyond the classroom. Chloe Yu, Programs & Philanthropy Assistant for the Sharks Foundation, highlighted the partnership's potential to build girls' confidence in STEM. The initiative targets early education, helping young learners develop skills before systemic gaps widen.
The grant will directly support hundreds of girls through afterschool and summer programmes. SAfG's long-term goal includes reaching more schools across the Bay Area with hands-on STEM learning. Families will also play a role, using the kits to extend lessons into the home.
