NV Energy Lights the Way for STEM Education With $10,000 Award

NV Energy continues to demonstrate its strong commitment to education and community development through its support of Sierra Nevada Journeys' Classrooms Unleashed program. NV Energy Foundation prioritizes programs that serve Nevada communities most in need in the areas of safety and wellness, education and youth development, and the environment. These core values directly align with our Classrooms Unleashed program. With a $10,000 grant from the NV Energy Foundation, the program was able to provide high-quality, hands-on science education to an additional 332 students in Northern Nevada, including 190 students from Title 1 schools. Last year, more than 7,000 students across Northern Nevada and Northern California participated in Classrooms Unleashed. This initiative is specifically designed to bridge educational gaps by offering STEM and outdoor learning opportunities to underrepresented and financially disadvantaged youth.

Classrooms Unleashed is a thoughtfully crafted curriculum that combines classroom instruction with immersive field experiences. Students receive one in-class lesson aligned with state and national science standards, followed by a day-long nature field trip. These field experiences, held in locations like Oxbow Nature Study Area and Galena Creek Regional Park, reinforce classroom concepts by giving students real-world context to explore topics such as ecosystems, environmental changes, and conservation. The program also integrates social-emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching practices, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility for all participants.

Last fall, Sierra Nevada Journeys launched Classrooms Unleashed 3.0 — a new and improved version of the curriculum. The updated format is streamlined across regions and designed to build knowledge progressively across grade levels. Educators were trained in curriculum delivery, trauma-informed practices, and student-centered learning techniques. As a result, the program has seen enthusiastic feedback from both students and teachers, with students especially enjoying the outdoor learning component.

While the partnership has already made a measurable impact, the potential for deeper collaboration remains. Sierra Nevada Journeys is planning its annual Girls in STEM weekend on June 7 - 8, 2025, and is excited to have NV Energy’s support for this impactful program as well. NV Energy serves not only as a title highlights its ongoing role in shaping future STEM leaders through meaningful, community-centered engagement.

Second grade students become botanists and study the relationship between flowers and pollinators at Crystal Peak Park.

Sierra Nevada Journeys Recently Participated in the Creation of the Informal STEM Learning Environments Evaluation Guide

The study was commissioned by the Nevada STEM Networks and the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation & Technology.

“Our committee set out to create an evaluation guide to support informal STEM providers, like Sierra Nevada Journeys, to create or improve systems to evaluate programs and in turn, improve outcomes,” said Sean Hill, Vice President of Advancement with Sierra Nevada Journeys. “We wanted to support the improvement of statewide impacts through these programs over time, and I’m thrilled to share this report with other providers.” Hill participated on the Nevada STEM Advisory Council’s Informal STEM Learning Environments (ISLE) Subcommittee along with several other Nevada-based educational organizations.

“One of the critical features of this report is information for evaluating the cultural relevance of programs and organizations. Students in Nevada that have historically been denied access to high quality STEM programs deserve no less, added Hill.

At Sierra Nevada Journeys, pre- and post-assessment of participants is part of every program. Additionally, follow-up evaluations are conducted with teachers who are responsible for bringing the program to their students. Most recently, Sierra Nevada Journeys also conducted a community needs assessment to better understand where there were opportunities to improve elementary programming with youth who have the least access to high-quality STEM education, namely, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, English Language Learners, and students with intellectual and physical disabilities.  

You can find the entire evaluation guide here. Or, learn more about Nevada STEM Networks and the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT). Also, OSIT has a number of reports covering a variety of STEM topics such as analysis of STEM occupations and top paying STEM jobs in Nevada.

---

Sierra Nevada Journeys Brings Equity and Inclusion to Science Education

Before COVID-19 upended our lives, Sierra Nevada Journeys had decided to take a close look at its science education programming and make improvements to ensure it is as equitable and inclusive as possible. Though the pandemic changed many plans, the education team at Sierra Nevada Journeys persisted in this effort, embarking on a revision informed by a community needs assessment in December of 2020. They interviewed and surveyed dozens of teachers, students, and community-based organization staff to determine how to best serve youth with the least access to hiqh-quality STEM education and outdoor experiences; namely, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, English Language Learners, and students with intellectual and physical disabilities. The findings were compiled and presented in this report, and results were used to revise its elementary programming, Classrooms Unleashed, including all of the grade-level designed programs: Nature’s Transformers (first grade); Genius Plants (second grade, CA); Matter Matters (second grade); Habits and Habitats (third grade); Our Amazing Earth (fourth grade); Hands-in-the-River (fifth grade); and Sculpting the Earth (sixth grade, CA).

The education team worked hard during the summer of 2021 to revise the program, and Sierra Nevada Journeys educators began piloting the improved curriculum in August, 2021. Important changes include the increased use of visual aids, language and vocabulary supports, including the incorporation of body motions when teaching key vocabulary, the featuring of relevant, local phenomena, and introducing youth to influential scientists of color. Early results indicate that the revisions were worth the effort. One teacher reported, “It really made them think about a topic they haven’t really thought much about. The kids loved it and learned so much!” The education team plans to review teacher program evaluations and student assessments from the pilot phase and make further revisions as necessary.

Thank You for Your Support

Thank you for your support of the Community Needs Assessment, curriculum development and delivery of Classrooms Unleashed to students: Sacramento Municipal Utility District -SMUD, Renown Health and Nevada STEM Networks.

---

Youth Outdoor Science Education Organization Sierra Nevada Journeys Expands STEM Enrichment Fund to Four Nevada Counties With Donation from Google

$50,000 donation from tech company helps STEM and outdoor education organization to elementary schools in Northwest Nevada counties

RENO, Nev. (January 18, 2022) — Sierra Nevada Journeys (SNJ), a Northern Nevada-based organization focused on delivering science education programs to youth in order to develop critical thinking skills, is expanding their STEM Enrichment Fund to offer programming to every elementary school in four Nevada counties thanks to a $50,000 donation from Google.

“These programs are vital to connecting Nevada’s students with science and outdoor stewardship,” said Kate Franko, Google's Regional Head of Public Affairs. “We’re proud to support the work of Sierra Nevada Journeys. There’s nothing better to get kids excited about science and engineering than taking those lessons outdoors, no matter the grade level.”

Sierra Nevada Journeys is offering scholarships to every elementary school in the following Nevada counties:

• Storey County

• Lyon County

• Washoe County

• Carson County

The education organization’s STEM Enrichment Fund supports scholarships for their benchmark Classrooms Unleashed and Family STEM Nights. Classrooms Unleashed is offered to 1st-6th grade students, combining classroom and field-based programming designed to meet grade-specific Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Family STEM Nights bring the whole family unit together via science activities to help students engage more with their school curriculum. These programs will be prioritized for students and schools with financial barriers to participation.

“We’re thrilled that Google’s supports STEM scholarships that will help students in Title 1 schools who have historically been denied access to high quality STEM programs and outdoor experiences,” said Sean Hill, Vice President of Advancement with Sierra Nevada Journeys. “On average, students receive less than three hours per week of science at the elementary school level. They’re also spending 15 times more on screens (phones, computers, tablets, etc.) than time spent outdoors; and that figure only increased this past year due to the pandemic. We look forward to turning this statistic around in Nevada.”

Google’s donation will be used for direct program expenses, as well as funding for more education personnel. Learn more about Classrooms Unleashed.

About Google in Nevada

In July 2019, Google broke ground on its first $600 million data center in Henderson, Nevada, with a second $600 million expansion following in 2020. In 2020 Google also announced a new $600 million investment in Storey County, bringing its total investment in Nevada to $1.8 billion. Once fully operational, all sites will employ people in a variety of fields including computer technicians, engineers, and various service, maintenance, and security roles.

---

About Sierra Nevada Journeys

Sierra Nevada Journeys is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that delivers innovative outdoor, science-based education programs for youth to develop critical thinking skills and to inspire natural resource stewardship. Through multiple points of contact, our classroom and virtual-based programs, overnight science camps, professional development for teachers, and parent engagement opportunities surround students with resources they need to succeed. All programs are designed to foster higher cognition and build long-term student achievement.