Statement of Purpose

It has been well documented that the United States is not attracting a sufficient number of K-12 students into higher education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Our best scientists and engineers have career opportunities in private industry that are far more lucrative than teaching K-12, and students in K-12 are not well informed about the challenges, excitement, and opportunities that exist in these fields. MIT and other research universities are now well positioned to help inspire interest in STEM careers through their graduates and resources.

The MIT Edgerton Center was founded to provide hands-on educational experiences for MIT undergraduates. Carrying on the legacy of MIT professor Harold E. Edgerton, our center creates opportunities for MIT students to engage in challenging activities and projects in engineering and science. In 1998, the Edgerton Center started to create opportunities for hands-on science and engineering education outside of MIT by partnering with Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School to form a FIRST Robotics Competition Team. Now our center provides hands-on curriculum, resources, and volunteers to many schools around Boston and the surrounding area, including the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury, MA and the Gloucester Public School System. Local school groups can also visit the Edgerton Center for a day of hands-on curriculum through the Educational Outreach Program.

The Mind and Hand Alliance is a subset of the Edgerton Center’s K-12 programs, specifically designed to provide STEM curriculum packages with accompanying materials and support to K-12 teachers and other educators, to help K-12 educators and organizers find, support, and train dedicated, highly-qualified MIT alumni volunteers to inspire student interest in STEM, and to form positive, productive partnerships with other K-12 educational organizations.