Need some help, I'm building a state of art STEM community center and Makerspace

[CRiley]

My name is Chris Riley, and I am excited to introduce myself as the STEM Lead for The Fires Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator (FISTA). It is an honor to join this community of educators, experts, and enthusiasts who are dedicated to advancing STEM education and engagement.

I'm currently researching building a 10,000 sqft STEM and Makerspace for the Lawton Oklahoma community. We are focusing on creating the space for under represented high school and college students. The problem I'm running into is finding other STEM facilities focusing in this space.

Any help would be appreciated, but I'm looking for any facilities you may be aware of that I would be able to reach out to and visit. I thank you all in advance for the help and support!

 

[russ_watters]

Reopened after cleanup - please guys, no politics. Jeez.

 

[russ_watters]

What I'm seeing with a quick google is that most seem to focus on k+12, often the lower half of that. After high school, colleges seem to take over anyway. Seems like there might be some out there though:
https://technical.ly/diversity-equity-inclusion/youth-stem-education/

 

[Frabjous]

You should try contacting ARL (and other DEVCOM sub units and ERDC), NRL (and various NSWC) and AFRL. They all have STEM programs and probably have people who are familiar with the broader community. Due to your proximity to Austin, you might also contact AFC. They are funding plenty of academic research and might also have some pointers.
NASA has a strong STEM focus. They probably have direct experience with underrepresented communities.