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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 21 M AY 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 F O C U S E D U C AT I O N / T R A I N I N G " is would leverage national parks to advance science education," he says. Another $9 million needs to be raised from private sources and foundations to fully fund the program, adds Mark Berry, CEO and president of the Schoodic Institute, which is based in Winter Harbor. "We'd like to get to $10 million to endow the partnership in Maine," he says. Both Acadia and Schoodic also have their own education programs that they fund separately, some of which will collaborate with Second Century. Currently, Second Century is sponsoring research by postdoctoral fellows, part of whose grant requires them to help develop the science cur- ricula for local elementary through high schools. In the summer of 2018, the program will roll out to K-12 teachers, who will learn from the fellows and other scientists at Acadia and its partners how to better teach science with the aim of getting stu- dents interested in STEM subjects. After that, the program will move on to a solutions workshop. e Maine STEM Council's November 2016 report on progress made by the Maine STEM Education and Workforce Plan 1.0 notes that after two years, too few milestones were achieved "to move Maine forward with the velocity the council had hoped." A new Plan 2.0 adds to the earlier plan to include creating a K-12 education system that excites and prepares all students in STEM and to fi nd interesting, meaningful and productive work. " e business community depends on the workforce [being educated]," says Berry. "A more immediate aspect is Maine will need to attract new people to move to the state. e perception of the quality of our schools has a lot to do with families moving here." "Another way of engaging with business is pursuing solutions," says Abe Miller-Rushing, sci- ence coordinator with the National Park Service at Acadia National Park and Schoodic Education and Research Center. "One of the fi rst things we [the park and Schoodic] are working on is big data and using it to solve challenges." He cited a partnership with Dell EMC as an example. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Acadia National Park by the Numbers The impact of the national park goes beyond the traditional visitor spending on camping, restau- rants, hotels and other recreational activities and extends into science education and, in turn, workforce development. Size: 35,332 acres owned by National Park Service; 12,416 acres privately owned Visitor spending: $274 million Jobs: 4,200 Labor income: $132.7 million Value-added: $218.9 million Total economic benefit: $333 million S O U R C E : NPS Visitor Spending Effects Report

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