Since 1990, the Toshiba America Foundation has handed out $500,000 each year to teachers nationwide who propose cool projects that encourage students to get excited about math and science. To date, the TAF has doled out $8.1 million!

One local winner, Plaza Vista School in Irvine got funding for its “Looking to Space” proposal. The school will use the money to launch (har har) an elective course on engineering and space science. Part of the curriculum: build robots and learn about technology used by scientists who study Mars.

Deadlines to apply for the next round of grants are coming around again. The grant program has two levels: One targeting kindergarten to 6th grade and the second for 7th to 12th grade.

For grades K-6 program, you have until Oct. 1 to make your pitch for a $1,000 grant. Grades 7 to 12 can apply for grants up to $5,000 twice a year. Deadlines are Feb. 1 and Aug. 1.

To apply, visit www.taf.toshiba.com or call 212-596-0667 for more information.

Past winners:

• California Academy of Mathematics and Science in Carson , CA, received $4,340 for a project that requires students to build remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) for underwater-science experiments. The ROV will be expected to collect water samples and perform other tasks related to the study of marine life.

• Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, MI, received $9,820 to focus on physics, energy and the automobile. End of the year project: Design and build a solar-powered car.

• Third grade students on the Alabama Gulf Coast become studiers of indigenous and endangered plants. They will collect, organize and analyze data and grow their own garden.

• First graders in Arkansas will master fractions when it comes to cooking and create a “child-friendly” cookbook.

• Fifth grade students in Florida will write melodies, review fractions, and discover the science of sound through a project on traditional Chilean music. Using recyclable materials, the class will make its own panpipes and present an ensemble performance of their own compositions.

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