Today’s blog post is by Chandler Arnold, First Book’s executive vice-president and director of the First Book Marketplace:
Not long ago, First Book introduced a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) section on the First Book Marketplace, our award-winning online bookstore for programs serving kids in need. This special STEM section is made possible through our partnership with Lockheed Martin, a world-renowned aerospace, security and technology company, and their K-12 education initiative, Engineers in the Classroom.
To celebrate this partnership, we’re going to feature some special guest posts on our blog next week from Lockheed Martin scientists and engineers. They’ll share a little bit about the cool things they do every day as part of their jobs – like planning missions to Mars or delivering radar systems to clients in faraway countries.
In today’s global, high-tech economy, students in the United States face competition from all corners of the world, and they need to master subjects like math, technology and engineering in order to become the rocket scientists, aerospace engineers and computer programmers of tomorrow. Books about these subjects can be hard to come by for schools and programs serving kids from low-income neighborhoods, but, thanks to Lockheed Martin’s generosity, First Book is able to provide them – now and for years to come.
Like our friends at Lockheed Martin, we want the kids we serve to have the opportunity to become astronauts, study volcanoes and build the next generation of computers. Making these books available to them is the first step.