Nevada launches new license plate to support STEM education
Nevadans with a special interest in advancing STEM education have a new way to support the cause. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles released a new specialized license plate on Tuesday the proceeds of which will go toward supporting nonprofit organizations that attempt to interest and train more students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The new plate features a green-and-white background, the letters “STEM” across the bottom and the logo for the Governor’s Office on Science, Innovation and Technology, which — together with a STEM advisory council — will provide grants to organizations that promote scientific and technical education.
“Many of the jobs today’s K-12 students will hold have not even been invented yet,” the office’s director, Brian Mitchell, said in a press release. “But the skills students acquire in a high-quality STEM education will prepare them for life no matter the pathway they choose. I’m excited these license plates will help raise awareness for STEM education in Nevada and want to thank the DMV for all their help in the design and production.”
The STEM plate is one of two new plates being introduced by the Nevada DMV. The other is a black-and-gold plate with a heart logo and the phrase “forever strong,” to commemorate the victims of the October 2017 mass shooting at country-music festival in Las Vegas.
Interest by Nevada state officials in training more students in technological fields is shared by other states across the country, which are putting new programming behind training teachers with STEM skills and searching for ways to keep students engaged in education paths that would ultimately lead to more computer scientists for their workforces.
Incidentally, Nevada is in the market for a new top technology official, with the resignation Monday of Chief Information Officer Michael Dietrich.
