There is a question at the center of every UMPPF STEM Kit, and it is one of the most important questions in modern materials science: can we create a real alternative to plastic?
This summer, that question is being explored in classrooms in Maryland and Massachusetts, thanks to our kits. For a program that started in Maine and has stayed in Maine, that feels like a milestone worth talking about.
What Is in the STEM Kit
Each made-in-Maine STEM Kit gives middle and high school students everything they need to run a multi-day hands-on experiment. The experiment compares the packaging capabilities of plastic wrap to cellulose nanofiber, or CNF, a renewable material developed right here at the University of Maine’s Process Development Center.
Students use both materials to seal containers, then collect real data on water loss and analyze the difference in performance between the two materials. They are not watching a demonstration or reading about a concept. They are running a controlled experiment, analyzing results, and drawing their own conclusions.
The takeaway is not just scientific. Students come away understanding that the paper industry is not a relic of the past. It is actively developing the materials that could replace some of the most environmentally damaging products in everyday use.
Why CNF Matters
Cellulose nanofiber is derived from wood pulp, which makes it renewable, biodegradable, and deeply connected to the industry that UMPPF has supported for more than 75 years. Researchers at UMaine’s Process Development Center have been advancing CNF technology for years, and the potential applications are significant: sustainable packaging, barrier coatings, and materials that perform like plastic without the environmental cost.
When students run this experiment in their classrooms, they are engaging directly with one of the most exciting areas of active research in the field. That is intentional. The kits are designed to show students that this industry is where innovation is happening, not somewhere else.
From Maine to Massachusetts
In 2025, we delivered 20 kits to schools across Maine, reaching more than 1,500 students. This year, we are distributing even more, all at no cost to educators. And for the first time, those kits are crossing state lines.
Seeing a teacher in Maryland or Massachusetts unbox a kit that was developed here in Maine, packed up and mailed south, and is now sitting in a classroom full of students who may have never thought about the paper industry before: that is exactly what this program is for.
The goal was never to keep this conversation inside Maine. The workforce needs that the pulp and paper industry faces are national. The students who will help solve them are everywhere. The kits are one small way we are starting that conversation earlier, and further from home than we have before.
If you are an educator interested in bringing a STEM Kit to your classroom, visit umaineppf.org/stem-kits to learn more and request one for 2026.
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