Schools
A single school sponsors one or more of its teachers as targeted PD, often paired with school-wide Field Notes: Explorer programming.
For teachers, schools, and districts
How Fellowship funding works.
Don't let funding stop you from applying — you are not expected to pay your Fellowship fee out of pocket, and you are not required to raise the remaining Fellowship balance yourself. After your $500 commitment payment reserves your position, Odyssey Discovery takes the lead on pursuing program-level funding through sponsors, partners, grants and other sources. Outside funding decisions rest with independent organizations, so funding cannot be guaranteed.
Everything below is optional. Some Fellows like to pursue funding themselves — through a school, a district, a grant, a foundation, a community organization or a local business — because it can help secure their position sooner, can cover expenses outside the Fellowship fee such as airfare and meals, and lets Odyssey's program-level funding support additional educators. Fellowship participants receive Odyssey Funding Lab access as a resource for that work, never as a required assignment.
The five funding paths
Who writes the check.
Districts
Multi-school partnerships that fund teacher cohorts each year. Documented PD hours, NGSS alignment, and outcomes reporting for the board.
Grants
Foundation, NOAA, NSF, NEA, and state STEM grants routinely fund teacher field-science PD. See the eight below.
Partnerships
Universities, research organizations, and nonprofits co-fund cohorts as part of larger education initiatives.
Sponsorships
Corporate and philanthropic sponsors underwrite cohorts and receive recognition and an impact report. Odyssey pursues these at the program level.
Individuals & small teams
Individual teachers or small teams from one school can apply directly — we help you match to the funder that fits.
Grants teachers and schools can actually win
Eight to start with.
Programs that have funded teachers and schools like yours. Apply to two or three — most have rolling or annual cycles.
Toyota TAPESTRY (revived editions / state affiliates)
- Who
- Individual K-12 science teachers
- Amount
- Up to $10,000
Field-based, environmental, and physical-science projects. Strong fit for a polar climate cohort.
NEA Foundation — Learning & Leadership Grants
- Who
- Individual teachers
- Amount
- $2,000 / $5,000
Funds professional development that improves practice. Expedition + curriculum integration qualifies.
NOAA Bay Watershed Education & Training (B-WET) and regional NOAA Education grants
- Who
- Schools, districts, nonprofits (teacher partner)
- Amount
- Varies — $25k+
Climate, ocean, and watershed education. Partner with a NOAA-aligned scientist on your cohort.
National Geographic Society — Education grants
- Who
- Educators with Nat Geo Educator Certification
- Amount
- $1k–$10k
Storytelling and field-learning projects. The expedition's documentation deliverable maps cleanly.
NSF Discovery Research K-12 / Advancing Informal STEM
- Who
- Universities, organizations (teacher participant)
- Amount
- Large, multi-year
Join an existing NSF-funded PD partnership — often easier than applying solo.
Earthwatch Teacher Fellowships
- Who
- K-12 educators
- Amount
- Full expedition cost
Competitive but real. Use this as proof of concept when pitching your district to fund the next one.
Fund for Teachers
- Who
- Pre-K–12 teachers, 3+ years experience
- Amount
- Up to $5,000 individual / $10,000 team
Self-designed summer learning fellowships. Among the best fits for this expedition.
American Honda Foundation — STEM education
- Who
- Schools, districts, nonprofits
- Amount
- $20k–$75k
Youth STEM education with measurable outcomes. District applies on the teacher's behalf.
Asking your school or district
Your district has a PD budget. Most of it goes to mediocre PD.
You're asking for a slice of money that already exists. The trick is framing the expedition as professional development — which it is — not as travel.
Sample language — email to your principal
"I'd like to propose a fully-funded seat on a 4-day cohort-based field science expedition with Odyssey Discovery — either Arctic Discovery in Utqiagvik or the Kenai Discovery pilot. It's NGSS-aligned, includes documented PD hours, and the deliverable is a classroom-ready curriculum unit. Odyssey Discovery helps identify grant and sponsor funding; I'm asking the school or district to cover any remaining gap from the PD budget. Could I have 15 minutes to walk you through what students would get out of it?"
Partnerships
Bigger organizations that co-fund cohorts.
Universities, research programs, and mission-aligned nonprofits (our pilot school is one example) frequently co-fund a cohort as part of a broader education initiative. If your school is already in one of these networks, that's often the fastest path to a funded seat.
Sponsorships
A company or foundation underwrites a full cohort.
- — Corporate sponsors underwrite a named cohort — often tied to STEM education, climate, or workforce priorities.
- — Family foundations fund cohorts as part of a broader education portfolio.
- — Community sponsors — local businesses, rotary clubs, education foundations — regularly underwrite one or two seats when there's a story to tell.
- — DonorsChoose / community fundraising can round out gaps, especially for classroom materials tied to the expedition curriculum.
Money should never be the reason you don't go.
If you want to go, we'll help you find the funder.
Email us with where you are — your state, your school, your timeline — and we'll send back a personalized funding plan within a few days.