NE STEM 4U

Lincoln

Test tubes in a lab with a heavy blue tinted overlay

NE STEM 4U–Lincoln was an organization through the University of Nebraska–Omaha and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) which provided quality, educational after-school activities focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) led by UNL undergraduate mentors for K-12 students in Lincoln Public Schools. Through these efforts, NE STEM 4U–Lincoln aimed to increase interest in and understanding of STEM topics, including network science, for socio-economically disadvantaged students and to provide opportunities for these students to pursue educations and careers in STEM fields.

2022 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine logo features a circle divided into four different-colored quadrants. The upper left quadrant is blue with an image of an atom, the upper right is red with world wide web symbol, the bottom left is yellow with a pi symbol, and the bottom right quadrant is green with an image of gears on it.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine recognized NE STEM 4U with its 2022 Inspiring Programs in STEM award.

Partnerships

School partnerships vary by academic year.

Past Partnerships

 

Club Photos

Click through the slideshow (right) to view NE STEM 4U club photos.

  • A young adult and youth sit on the floor of a classroom around a drawing of networks on a large piece of white paper. The youth hold markers and are talking about the drawing.
    Worlds of Connections undergraduate mentor Luke Novak (right) works with a group of middle-school youth to play a game demonstrating network science and the efficacy of vaccinations among community members.
    Craig Chandler | University Communication
  • A young white person with blonde hair in a ponytail wearing a long sleeve black zipper-front shirt points forward with both fingers as they playtest a VR experience. They are wearing a white VR headset and standing in a middle school gym.
    An NE STEM 4U participant explores the farm lab in the Mu Mu: Worlds of Connections VR experience
    Ash Eliza Smith | Worlds of Connections
  • Aerial view of a youth and a young adult peering over a large piece of paper covered in network drawings. The youth holds a green marker in their hand, about to draw, as the young adult points to one of the networks on the paper.
    A middle-school youth does an activity demonstrating network science and the efficacy of vaccinations among community members.
    Greg Nathan | University Communication
  • A young person with brown skin and dark, curly hair pulled back in an up-do, wearing a plaid flannel shirt and jeans, sits on a classroom floor. Their arms reach in front of their face to stack a wooden block on top of a giant tumbling tower.
    An NE STEM 4U participant uses a tumbling tower to model an ecological network—a food web.
  • Two middle-school youth, one wearing purple and one wearing red, draw network maps on pieces of white paper.
    Two NE STEM 4U participants use graph theory, a field of study used by data scientists and mathematicians, to map the networks of relationships among classic storybook characters.
    Worlds of Connections
  • A human neuron modeled out of colorful magnetic sticks and spheres, with a coiled piece of green pipe cleaner representing the neuron's myelin sheath. A sheet of paper next to the model depicts a drawing of a neuron with labeled parts: myelin, soma, neurotransmitters, axon, axon terminal, and dendrites..
    Model neuron built by an NE STEM 4U club member out of magnetic sticks, spheres and pipe cleaner.
    Worlds of Connections
  • A youth and a young adult draw network models with markers on large sheets of white paper on the floor of a classroom.
    Grace Stallworth (right), project coordinator for Worlds of Connections from 2018–2019, facilitates a network science activity with a middle-school student.
    Greg Nathan | University Communication
  • Hands of youth with brown skin draw pink and green network models on a large, white sheet of paper.
    Youth draw network models during an NE STEM 4U after-school club meeting.
    Greg Nathan | University Communication
"SEPA" in large red serif font. To the right, "SCIENCE EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP AWARD" in capital black letters. Stretching across the bottom of both text blocks are the words "SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH" in gray capital letters.

This website is supported by the Worlds of Connections SEPA [R25GM129836] at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. This content is solely the responsibility of the creators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Nebraska.