Maine Indian Education Students Travel to MIT, Thanks to Beaver Works Summer Institute

During the week of March 24, 2025, 32 middle school students and 12 staff members from Maine Indian Education’s three schools—Indian Island School, Indian Township School, and Sipayik Elementary School—traveled to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as part of the Beaver Works Summer Institute, a STEM program at MIT. This trip represented part of an ongoing effort to engage Indigenous youth in STEM programming to increase their exposure to and interest in potential STEM career opportunities. 

These students and educators participated in two and a half days of programming that included workshops, demonstrations, an opportunity expo, and more. Workshops included focuses on wearable technology, self-driving cars, and climate change and water quality. Students also participated in tours and demonstrations at unique MIT spaces like the Hobby Shop, the Edgerton Center’s Milk Drop Shop, D-Lab, Breakerspace, and the Center for Bits and Atoms. 

The students’ days at MIT were full and engaging. They walked for miles, traversing MIT’s campus, and ate supper in one of the student cafeterias. They were also treated to an evening improvisation session with Nova Comedy Collective. The students and staff members have said they are incredibly grateful for their experience at MIT and will treasure their memories for years to come.  

Joel Grimm, manager of Beaver Worksat MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Nancy Dalrymple, Native American Student Association advisor, began engaging with Maine Indian Education last November to discuss the possibilities of a student trip from the Penobscot Nation’s Indian Island and the Passamaquoddy Tribe’s two reservations in Downeast Maine. Soon after those conversations began, scientists, engineers, and other academics from across New England signed on to support this first-time program, sponsored by MIT Beaver Works. 

Beaver Works received generous grant support from Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) to engage Indigenous youth in STEM programming. The National Science Foundation reported in 2019 that 0.6% of Indigenous peoples received a bachelor’s degree in STEM disciplines. 

Maine Indian Education’s leadership expressed an overwhelming sense of gratitude for Beaver Works with the following statement:

“Joel and Nancy have advocated for and supported programming for our students for a number of years, with much of it occurring locally until this year. These opportunities for engagement are an invaluable gift that has planted more seeds for future experiences than we can imagine.”

This story was submitted by Maine Indian Education. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, please fill out the good news submission form.