Local STEAM micro‑grants
The South Carolina Council for Mathematics and Science celebrated 2026 STEAM grant winners who each received $2,500 for K–12 projects across regional districts. The announcement highlights fresh, small grants aimed at classroom innovation in STEM and STEAM instruction (x.com/SCCMS_STEM).
South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science said its 2026 STEAM classroom grants went to K-12 educators across the state, with each award set at $2,500. (x.com) The coalition’s public post identified the awards as 2026 STEAM grants and framed them as support for classroom projects rather than districtwide capital spending. The organization’s website says it works statewide to improve kindergarten-through-12th-grade science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. (x.com) (sccoalition.org) South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science is hosted at Clemson University, and Executive Director Katherine Mulholland leads the group from Clemson University Research Park in Anderson. A Clemson profile says the coalition was founded by BMW Manufacturing, DuPont, Michelin North America and Duke Energy. (sccoalition.org) (blogs.clemson.edu) The grants land as South Carolina schools and education groups keep pushing hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics work in regular classrooms. The coalition also manages S2TEM Centers South Carolina, a professional-development network for prekindergarten-through-12th-grade STEM educators. (blogs.clemson.edu) (s2temsc.org) Small grants like these typically cover materials, kits or project costs that are too limited for major state grant programs but large enough to launch a class activity in one school year. By contrast, the South Carolina Department of Education’s 2024-25 Innovation Grant program listed $15 million in available funding for larger pilot initiatives. (registration.scs2temonline.org) (ed.sc.gov) The coalition has run similar “Growing in STEM” grants before, using the same $2,500 figure for teacher projects. A cached coalition grant packet set a January 31, 2025 application deadline for that program and said staff would not comment on a project’s chances before awards were made. (facebook.com) (registration.scs2temonline.org) The coalition’s broader strategy has centered on linking schools, universities, employers and community groups in what it calls a statewide STEM learning ecosystem. Its recent partnerships have included work with the Smithsonian Science Education Center and district support in Marion, Marlboro and Orangeburg counties. (blogs.clemson.edu) (ssec.si.edu) For teachers who won this round, the immediate result is narrower and more practical: $2,500 to try a classroom idea now, with the coalition using a statewide platform to spotlight the work. (x.com)
