Feds Feed Families is a federal workforce initiative to fight hunger in our local communities. This year’s campaign began on June 13 and will continue until the end of August. After collecting approximately 550 pounds of food each of the last two years, NCI at Frederick is making a push to collect even more this summer. On June 29, during Take Your Child to Work Day, a 10-foot truck will be parked in the hub area along Chandler Street and Wood Street.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski came to NIH on April 11 to say goodbye. Following this fall’s election, the longest-serving woman in congressional history will relinquish her Maryland Senate seat, bringing to a close a 40-year national political career in which she staunchly supported NIH and biomedical research.

Scientists throughout NCI gathered at the 2016 Intramural Scientific Investigators Retreat on Jan. 12, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, to discuss the results of their research with fellow investigators. Several researchers who have made significant advances toward the goal of eliminating the threat of cancer spoke to a packed auditorium of like-minded experts. Speaker topics included the role genetics play in the risk of breast cancer, using fiberglass to determine the functions of RNAs, targeted radiation delivery, and transcription factors in early T-cell development.

Once again, NCI at Frederick participated in the annual Feds Feed Families event, which challenges federal workers to help knock out hunger with a food drive. This year, NIH collected 26,315 pounds of non-perishable goods, beating its goal of collecting 20,000 pounds. This includes over four tons of food that was collected at satellite locations, including NCI at Frederick. The food collected at NCI at Frederick was donated locally to the Frederick Rescue Mission. These donations help feed local families in need through the holiday season.

If the only way for high school students to learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is through textbooks, then count me out. But how then do you get students to learn STEM outside of the classroom? The focus of this article is to advocate for high school STEM education through experiential learning.