USI SwISTEM expanding with Crane partnership

Through its Educational Partnership Agreement with Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane (NSWC Crane), the University of Southern Indiana's Southwest Indiana STEM (SwISTEM) Resource Center is expanding its SwISTEM Equipment Lending Service to include Owen, Greene, Daviess, Martin, Monroe, Lawrence, and Orange counties.

The SwISTEM/Crane Equipment Lending Service will be housed at Westgate Academy in Crane, Indiana. An open house will be held at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, August 1. The public is welcome to attend.

The free service offers laboratory-grade equipment and hands-on mathematics learning tools to organizations involved in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education of pre-K through grade 12. Curriculum and instructional assistance also is available.

All existing equipment available through the SwISTEM Equipment Lending Service will be available through an inter-library loan service, plus additional equipment made available by the Crane STEM Outreach Department. It is open to all formal and informal education institutions in the service area.

Equipment delivery is not available for the new seven-county area at this time, but teachers may pick up reserved equipment at Westgate Academy.

Previously, the SwISTEM Equipment Lending Service was available only to Knox, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Dubois, Pike, Crawford, Spencer, and Perry Counties. Delivery is still available for those areas.

The SwISTEM Equipment Lending Service is part of USI's initiative to advance the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the region.

For more information about the SwISTEM Resource Center and the equipment available through the Equipment Lending Service, go to www.swistem.org or contact Allison Grabert, director of the SwISTEM Resource Center, at 812/228-5019.