The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation (CRSF) and Exelon Foundation today held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Lansdowne Middle School in Baltimore to launch a state-of-the-art STEM center and celebrate the beginning of a three-year educational initiative between the foundations.
The Lansdowne Middle School STEM center opening marks the first of 81 STEM centers that the $3M partnership with Exelon will open. Centers will open in areas around Atlantic City, N.J., Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, Wilmington, DE, and Washington, D.C.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony included guest speakers Cal Ripken, Jr., MLB Hall of Famer and co-founder of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, Calvin Butler, President and CEO of Exelon, and Congressman Kweisi Mfume, Representative from the Seventh District of Maryland. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, students participated in STEM demonstrations in the new space.
STEM Centers Expanding
Today’s opening also marks the 500th STEM center for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, spanning 23 states and servicing over 190,000 youth across the country.
“This is all about providing resources that will help kids learn,” said Cal Ripken, Jr. “It’s hard to believe that we have opened 500 STEM Centers across the country. This is only accomplished through strong partnerships and Calvin and Exelon are partners and friends. Their generosity makes a real difference in so many communities nationwide.”
The partnership takes the Exelon Foundation and CRSF’s STEM initiatives to new heights with the inclusion of three new states – Illinois, New Jersey, and Delaware, with openings in each state slated for later this year. BGE is funding four additional CRSF STEM centers, one of which opened in November 2023 at Aberdeen Middle School, Aberdeen, Md.
“We know the value of students gaining knowledge, skills, and confidence in the areas of coding and engineering, which are particularly important to us in the energy industry,” said Calvin Butler, President and CEO of Exelon, the nation’s largest energy delivery company and the parent company of BGE. “We are thrilled to partner with CRSF and help develop the next generation of STEM experts and the future energy workforce.”
Foundation Provides Resources for Kids in STEM
The Exelon Foundation is not new to working in the STEM arena. Since 2018, the Exelon Foundation has operated a free, week-long STEM Academy experience for 10th and 11th grade girls from under-resourced communities each summer in the Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., metro areas. In 2024, the Exelon Foundation will be expanding its free STEM Academy to include an all-male academy with students representing each of the four regions where the STEM Academy currently operates.
“Thanks to the generous donation from the Exelon Foundation, we’re able to bring a STEM center to 81 elementary and middle schools in the next three years,” said Steve Salem, President and CEO, Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. “We are overjoyed to continue our relationship with Exelon, under Calvin’s leadership. Their generous gift symbolizes a commitment to provide a cohesive STEM education program that we know will make a difference.”
STEM Center Locations in Maryland
Today’s ribbon-cutting celebration kicks off the three-year initiative to install fully equipped STEM centers in 81 elementary and middle schools.
Here are the 8 Exelon/CRSF STEM center Maryland locations opening in 2024: