AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa 4-H Foundation has received $15,300 from the Monsanto Fund, a private foundation and philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, to support the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa (http://www.sciencefairofiowa.org/). The fair encourages youth in grades six to 12 to bring in science projects to be judged by professionals in the science and engineering fields.
“The State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa is pleased to team up with Monsanto Fund because it is so important to provide Iowa youth with an opportunity to present their research and engage in discussion with experts so they can hopefully pursue science and technology as a career,” said Jay Staker, director of Iowa State University Extension Science, Engineering and Technology (E-SET).
This grant will provide sponsorship to the high school division of the fair and will support sending four high school youth to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nev., in May 2009.
“Monsanto is strongly committed to funding science education and believes that the more young people understand about science, the more they will be able to affect the quality of their lives in the years ahead,” said Travis Frey, Monsanto Corn Discovery and Pathology Lead, Monsanto Company. “This project was a good fit to the Monsanto Fund’s science education focus area. The project recognizes the importance of science education and the significant impact that young people educated in science can have on their lives and others in their communities.”
The Monsanto Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company. Incorporated in 1964, the Fund’s primary objective is to improve the lives of people by bridging the gap between their needs and their resources. The Monsanto Fund is focused on grant-making in four main areas: nutritional well-being through agriculture; science education, primarily on professional development for teachers; the environment, which includes conservation, protection of bio-diversity, clean water and restoration of wildlife habitat; and improving the quality of life in communities where Monsanto employees live and work.
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http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2009/mar/411301.htm
Contacts :
Jay Staker, (515) 294-8417, jstaker@iastate.edu
Caitlyn Miller, (515) 294- 9915, millercm@iastate.edu
Laura Sternweis, (515) 294-0775, lsternw@iastate.edu
Travis Frey, (515) 694-5897, travis.james.frey@monsanto.com.