NASA Selects Learning Ecosystems Northeast for Five-Year, $11.6 Million Science Activation Award to Foster Youth Science Literacy
A growing network of teachers, librarians, and community educators will connect more youth with NASA science in the places they live.
Portland, Maine (October 29, 2026) — NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has selected the Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) regional network, led by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in coordination with Maine State Library, Maine 4-H, Mount Washington Observatory, and Shelburne Farms, to receive a five-year NASA Science Activation award, expected to be $11.6 million. The award will help more young people across the Northeast learn from, experience, and contribute to NASA science, building STEM literacy through hands-on investigations rooted in the places where participants live.
This award builds on a decade of work by hundreds of educators, schools, libraries, science centers, nonprofits, and community partners across Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York. What began in 2016 as a set of regional teacher communities has grown, with support from NASA, into a network of 16 regional groups that bring together teachers, librarians, and out-of-school educators collaborating to increase science learning opportunities both in and out of school.
“The approach begins from a very simple observation: Different students thrive in different learning contexts,” said Leigh Peake, Chief Education Officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. “A student might struggle in the classroom but shine in the 4-H barn or scouting expedition. This project helps to create as many entry points and pathways into science learning as possible and enable students to gain confidence, interest, and agency in science.”
Together, educators, students, and partners use real NASA science and data to explore issues that affect their own communities, such as extreme weather, flooding, food systems, and environmental change. During the 2025-2026 school year, LENE connected more than 750 educators in schools and community settings, and more than 500 schools and partner organizations, who together created more than 60,000 student learning interactions.
Over the next five years, the award will help the network add six new regional groups, bring more educators into the program, and lay the groundwork for expansion into Connecticut and Rhode Island. The network has a strong focus on rural communities that struggle to recruit and retain teachers by reducing professional isolation, providing ongoing peer support, and helping educators build on the strengths of their communities. A focus on working with data, models, and artificial intelligence will help prepare young people for technology-driven jobs in traditional regional industries, nursing, remote data analysis, and other careers that may allow them to stay in their home communities.
“Many of us can trace our interests, careers, and values back to early experiences that sparked our curiosity about the world around us. LENE educators and partners are creating those experiences for young people across the Northeast and preparing them for the growing range of careers that depend on science and data,” said Glenn Prickett, President and CEO of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. “We are deeply grateful to NASA for this investment in our communities.”
“This work would not be possible without every educator, scientist, community organization, and individual who has contributed to LENE over the past ten years,” Peake added. “Their experience, ideas, and deep knowledge of their communities have guided the program from the beginning. This award reflects what we have built together and will allow us to continue listening to our partners as we strengthen the network and reach more educators and young people across the Northeast.”
To learn more about LENE, visit https://www.learningecosystemsnortheast.org/
Project Science Center Partners:
1. Maine Discovery Museum, Bangor, ME
2. Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT
3. ECHO-Leahy, Burlington, VT
4. Cummings Nature Center, Finger Lakes, NY
5. Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY
6. Saratoga Children’s Museum, Saratoga, NY
7. The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, NY
8. Acton Discovery Museum, Acton, MA
9. Seacoast Science Center, Rye, NH
10. Squam Lakes Nature Center, Holderness, NH
About the Gulf of Maine Research Institute
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is an objective, independent non-profit working toward a future in which the ecosystems, economies, and communities of the Gulf of Maine region thrive amid rapid change. For more information, visit www.gmri.org
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