TERC Receives a NSF Grant to Explore STEM Learning in Breweries
A new three-year research project explores how talking with brewery patrons about science can connect beer-making and STEM innovation with opportunities to shape decisions in their communities.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (November 12, 2026) — TERC, a Cambridge-based nonprofit advancing STEM education through research, innovation, and implementation, has received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore new ways for young adults to encounter and engage with STEM in the places they already gather – specifically breweries.
STEM is part of our everyday lives, and learning doesn’t stop when we leave school. Informal settings, including places where people gather to eat, drink, and socialize, can offer opportunities to drink in cutting-edge science, be creative and curious, and explore issues that affect communities.
The project will start with an issue that affects every community, the future of our water and wastewater systems. Most U.S. communities rely on aging wastewater infrastructure. New approaches to sanitation can conserve water, reduce costs, and recover valuable nutrients that can support agriculture. Yet these promising solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted without public understanding.
Breweries provide a natural place for those conversations. In addition to being popular gathering places for Millennials, brewing is closely connected to water and agriculture, making breweries a relevant place to get people talking about water use, sanitation, and new technologies.
“This project gives us an opportunity to jumpstart conversations about sanitation before there is a crisis. We bring the STEM content and conversations to a relaxed setting,” said Martha Merson, Principal Investigator at TERC.
The three-year project will create and study experiences using documentary short films, infographics, 3D interactives, expert conversations, and even demonstration toilets.
TERC, Notable Human Films, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Rich Earth Institute, and Brightwater Tools, with advisors Jolie Gutentag, Mathew Lippincott, and others will work with businesses in Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Vermont to host the project
Researchers will study what captures participants’ interest, what they learn, and whether their perspectives change. The team will also create documentary shorts and learning resources that others can use to spark similar conversations.
The research could have implications well beyond wastewater. The project reflects TERC’s broader systems approach to STEM education, which considers where, when, and how people encounter STEM throughout their lives. By studying what happens when science conversations become part of the places Millennials already spend time, the project could offer new insights into how informal STEM experiences can arouse interest in emerging technologies and foster participation in decisions that shape their communities.
The project begins January 1, 2027, and is led by Merson, with Co-Principal Investigators Nickolay Hristov of TERC and Betsy J. Towns of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Ahead of the project’s launch, a free screening of the documentary Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong will take place on November 17 at a/perture theater in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, followed by a discussion with local experts about wastewater infrastructure and potential solutions.
About TERC
TERC is a nonprofit leader in STEM education research and innovation. For more than 60 years, TERC has developed evidence-based curricula, digital tools, emerging technologies, professional learning, and community-based programs that expand opportunity and strengthen STEM learning for people of all ages. Working in partnership with educators, researchers, families, and communities, TERC designs solutions that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and support learning in classrooms and beyond. Through this work, TERC reaches millions of learners and educators across all 50 states and around the world. To learn more, please visit www.terc.edu.