HONESDALE, PA — The Cooperage Project has received a grant from the SHINEonPA STEM Ecosystem, implementing a $500,000 PAsmart Advancing Computer Science and STEM Education grant. 

SHINEonPA works with local organizations to bring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs to students in northeast PA. This grant involves libraries and community centers in seven counties—including Wayne and Pike—to build 13 learning hubs, which will each receive over $25,000 of devices and supplies.

The Cooperage Project will use its share of the resources in programs such as Pop-Up Club, a STEM-focused afterschool club for middle school students in Wayne Highlands, Wallenpaupack and Western Wayne school districts; Coop Camps, week-long summer camps for elementary students; and new teen maker space programs. 

The SHINEonPA STEM Ecosystem also includes the Wayne Library Alliance.

The Cooperage Project “is dedicated to bringing innovative, free programs like these to the awesome young people of NEPA, and is thrilled to expand its ability to offer high-quality learning opportunities that don’t always reach rural communities like ours,” it said in a news release.