A grant the Allegheny Intermediate Unit recently received from the Department of Education will provide high-needs schools and libraries in urban and rural communities — including those in Butler County — with learning tools for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.

The $497,344 PAsmart Advancing Grant will serve about 300 educators and 6,000 children in 2023 in more than half of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, according to a news release from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

Through the new funding, educators will receive a comprehensive kit that includes one Storytime STEM+C Adventure, one science/engineering Storytime STEM-pack and one mathematics Storytime STEM-pack.

Additionally, Midwestern Intermediate Unit 4 and other partner intermediate units will receive two kits for inclusion in their lending libraries, which allows any educator in their footprint to use the materials in their classrooms, according to a news release.