MANHATTAN — The Rural Education Center in the Kansas State University College of Education has received a $340,000 National Science Foundation grant for using drones and other technology to encourage rural students' interest in geoscience degrees and careers.
"SOARING: Sharing Opportunities, Approaches, and Resources in New Geo-teaching" is a three-year grant that will provide training on the latest in geotechnology for teachers and students at middle schools and high schools in eight partner rural school districts. It will target geotechnology applications of airborne remote sensing in the areas of environmental and hazardous geology, water resources and geology mapping.
According to current data, Project SOARING will likely reach more than 4,400 middle and high school students in Kansas, including more than 1,900 female rural students, 2,200 Hispanic/Latino rural students and more than 200 students underrepresented in STEM fields. School districts involved are Ashland USD 220, Clay County USD 379, Dighton USD 482, Haviland USD 474, Lakin USD 215, Liberal USD 480, Skyline USD 438 and Twin Valley USD 240, all members of the Rural Education Center's newly established Rural Professional Development School network.