BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB FUNDS ROBOTICS AND SCIENCE PROGRAMS
FOR NEW BRUNSWICK PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company awarded NBEF a $10,000 grant to fund a robotics program for middle school students and an alternative energy project for the district’s 5^th graders.

The robotics program will expose 6^th through 8^th grade students to various aspects of science and technology, including working with engineer mentors and actually designing, building and programming robotics. Student participants will be divided into 2 teams and their hard work, skill development, and finished products will be publicly displayed in a fun and exciting competition in March 2011.

The second BMS funded project entitled, “A Perspective on Alternative Energy and its Impact on Health and our Planet”, will enrich over five hundred 5^th grade students in 8 New Brunswick Elementary Schools with the study of solar energy, the nature and extent of its resources, and the environmental and health effects of its use. In addition, students will explore alternative energy technologies that have revolutionized scientific discoveries such as solar panels, solar cells and photovoltaic applications with an approach that integrates science with other disciplines such as math, language arts and social studies.

New Brunswick Middle School Robotics Program students planning and designing their projects

New Brunswick Middle School Robotics Program students working on their presentations

Last year, Bristol-Myers Squibb awarded NBEF a $10,000 grant that enriched over 400 New Brunswick High School 9^th and 10^th grade students with learning experiences in environmental and health sciences. The project entitled “Exploring Environmental and Health Issues in an Urban Community” engaged students in a study of urban vs. rural air, soil and water quality. The students used advanced technological methods such as software linked probes to collect, analyze, and report their findings. The project’s culminating activity was the development of a website that contains the data compiled by the students at http://nbhs-envisci-bms.wikispaces.com..