CASPER — Tensley Dougherty ping-ponged between interactive exhibits at Science Zone last week, making giant soap bubbles, striking poses in a shadow box and testing her strength against the force of magnetism.
Science never looked so fun for the pre-teen.
Despite the excitement, there was also letdown as one of the Zone’s most anticipated weekly events, Family STEAM Night, was canceled because of cuts from the fledgling federal cost-cutting agency started by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
“We had such a good time at the last STEAM night, I brought my friend and her daughter to join us this time,” said local resident Sara Dougherty, adding that her daughter Tensley, was especially excited about the week's astronomy theme. “Too bad they canceled. Hopefully it’s back next week.”
STEAM night is among the early casualties of the recent DOGE decision to halt $400 million in funding for AmeriCorps, a federal agency that coordinates service and volunteerism for community programs across the country.
More a clawback of money than a “cut,” the move by DOGE has created an administrative mess as the money has already been allocated to entities like the Science Zone. That’s left organizations across Wyoming in a position of uncertainty as they scramble to mitigate the impact on 100 sites and the more than 200 Wyomingites who lost jobs.
ServeWyoming, which administers AmeriCorps funding, is ramping up a pressure campaign on state leaders and federal delegates as they seek answers for what they view as an unjustified rescission of congressionally approved funding.
DOGE’s reason for the clawback was the $400 million “no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
ServeWyoming met with White House officials Thursday and continue conversations with staffers from the state’s delegation, but mostly to no avail.
“At this time, neither ServeWyoming nor their commissioners have received clear insight on whether any action will be taken by our federal delegates or the governor's office and cannot speak as to their stance or plans,” Andrea Harrington, vice chair of ServeWyoming, told Cowboy State Daily in an email.
Meanwhile, Wyoming’s congressional delegation has been supportive of the cost-cutting measures enlisted by DOGE so far.
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman has repeatedly supported the efforts of DOGE at a series of town hall meetings she’s held over the past couple of months.
At a meeting that drew some critics from Jackson to Afton in March, she also said many of the cuts are for things that taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for and go against the new administration’s policies.
She said public money was being spent on things like $500,000 to advance atheism in Nepal or $4.5 million for Kazakhstan to fight internet trolls. Hageman said there are huge sums being spent on stuff nobody in Congress ever approved — or would approve.
“Whether it’s transgender comic books in Peru or millions in Politico subscriptions, Congress has never voted to explicitly provide funding for these items,” she said.
The Science Zone in Casper is one of a number of groups that get money from AmeriCorps. (The Science Zone via Facebook) 
Tensley Dougherty busies herself with a puzzle challenge at The Science Zone in Casper. (Zakary Sonntag, Cowboy State Daily) 
Leyton Jakobsen gets a hands-on sense of the phases of the moon at The Science Zone in Casper. (Zakary Sonntag, Cowboy State Daily)
Multiplier Effect
The cork on AmeriCorps funding could have big impacts on the work of the Wyoming Conservation Corp, which has become a piece of the state’s wild and working lands management since its inception in 2006.
WCC leads projects on invasive species removal and related fire prevention efforts, a perennially critical initiative in fire-prone Wyoming.
It helps firm up the state’s surging outdoor recreation economy by building beaver dam analogs along with stream restoration and trails maintenance. It looks after big game and sportsmen with programs for wildlife-friendly fence replacement, an issue with implications for a myriad of Wyoming’s iconic species.
“I would venture to say that everyone in Wyoming, at some time, is going to happen upon a project that occurred because of WCC,” said John L. Koprowski, dean of the University of Wyoming’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, which oversees WCC.
“Wyomingites and many visitors to our state are going to benefit from these things and they're not going to notice them, because that's what we expect the amazing lands we have in Wyoming to look like,” he said.
Those projects will soon pare down if the DOGE action holds.
AmeriCorps helps WCC underwrite eight leadership positions, which go on to organize much larger teams of seasonal and volunteer workers.
Koprowski said that in this way, the relationship plays an important role in workforce training for core state sectors, from lands management and agriculture to outdoor recreation.
“You get a huge multiplier effect with these programs,” he said. “AmeriCorps funds that are on pause right now, that's a multiplier that's then lost.”
ServeWyoming has quantified the multiplier of grants specifically, with federal money generating a $1-for-$1 match in private, state and individual funding.
The program additionally underwrites $1.177 million in state scholarships awarded to Wyoming service members, much of which cycles back through in-state colleges, universities, technical schools and certificate programs.
“All of this will be going away from our state,” said Harrington in a letter to federal delegates.
Mission Curiosity, Education Gap
In different ways, the Science Zone is also in the field of workforce training by giving youth a leg up in scientific and technological skill sets, said executive director Steven Schnell.
“There's not enough time in the school day dedicated to science education,” he said. “We are filling a pretty significant role and a pretty significant need in helping fill that educational gap.”
The mission is twofold: Cultivate critical and scientific thinking skills while also providing practical and applicational learning, like after school computer coding and drone certification classes.
“We need people who can understand problem solving and critical thinking and have those skill sets and know how to ask questions and figure tough things out. Our mission is to inspire curiosity,” said Schnell.
DOGE cuts could slow the mission.
“The AmeriCorps service members and the service that they’ve been doing for the organization is absolutely critical,” Schnell said. “We would not be able to be serving this many people, students, families and across our community and across our state without their support.”
Zakary Sonntag can be reached at zakary@cowboystatedaily.com.
