Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland has announced a $2,090,000 grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to support Techbridge, a multifaceted program designed to enhance girls' interest and skills in science, technology, and engineering. Chabot will host this afterschool program that encourages girls to pursue academic and career options in scientific and technical fields.
Originally funded by the National Science Foundation, Techbridge was a model demonstration program that engaged teachers, families, role models, and peer support networks in keeping girls involved and motivated in technology. In programs hosted before and after school in Oakland Unified School District, girls were introduced to various applications of technology as they worked on projects based on their interests. This grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will allow Chabot to continue to support Techbridge afterschool programs with an enhanced program model, extend the program’s academic and career guidance resources for students and their families, and also expand over time to serve new schools both locally and nationally.
"We are very grateful to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for their generous support of Techbridge that will allow us to continue to serve girls from underserved populations", said Etta Heber, Director of Programs at Chabot. "Many of today’s youth, especially those from low socioeconomic families, do not receive adequate academic and career counseling to make well-informed decisions about career options. This funding will enable us to serve many more young women in our community with afterschool programs, guidance, role models, work-site visits, and much more."
Techbridge will operate at elementary, middle, and high schools in the Oakland Unified School District and also at the California School for the Blind in Fremont. "The program will serve as a bridge, supporting girls' involvement in science, technology, and engineering. It works with girls at a critical period when they have important decisions to make that will affect their academic success and career options, " said Linda Kekelis, project director. "We have seen the program’s success in engaging girls in scientific and technical fields and are looking forward to extending our outreach to new communities."
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was established in November 2000 by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife Betty to create positive outcomes for future generations. The Foundation funds outcome-based grants and initiatives to achieve significant and measurable results. Grantmaking supports the Foundation’s principal areas of concern: environmental conservation, science, higher education, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Chabot Space & Science Center
Originally created for the Oakland school system in 1883, Chabot Space and Science Center has a distinguished history as the first public observatory in the western U.S. and as the provider of highly regarded educational and community programs in astronomy for over 115 years. Chabot Space and Science Center is an innovative teaching and learning center focusing on astronomy and the inter-relationships of all the sciences. Its observatory, planetarium, exhibits, and natural park setting are a place where a diverse population of students, teachers, and the public can imagine, understand, and learn to shape their future through science.