From the Orange County Register

A foundation established by millionaire inventor Arnold O. Beckman has donated $14.4 million to Orange County, Calif., public schools, the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register report.

The donation, the second-largest gift to the school system, was made by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, funded by Beckman Industries. It is also the largest corporate donation of its kind to a California public school system.

The gift means an estimated 300,000 Orange County elementary students will receive hands-on exposure to science education programs designed in collaboration with California State University Fullerton, Discovery Science Center, and the National Science Resources Center.

The Beckman@Science program also features training seminars for teachers, science projects and supplies, and a pool of science education consultants. The program establishes four-year grants of $200,000 to further develop science curricula and training for each of Orange County's 27 school districts.

The nonprofit Beckman Foundation was established in 1977 to support basic research in biochemistry, chemistry and medicine. It has contributed about $300 million to educational, medical and scientific institutions throughout the U.S.

The foundation also directs the Beckman Young Investigator and Beckman Scholars awards programs.

Full text of the article is currently found at:
http://www.ocregister.com/education/grant015w1.shtml