Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is expanding the park’s high school science internship program with the help of a $25,000 grant.

The grant will fund science programs including internships for high school students from Swain, Graham and Haywood counties. It also will support a local teacher’s work with the interns, allowing the teacher to pick up instructional ideas to take back to the classroom.

The grant was awarded through the Ribbon of Hope program, which provides one-time awards of $25,000 to a variety of causes across the state. The program is administered by the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation. Since 2008, the foundation has awarded 84 such grants, in the areas of health, science and education.

“This grant allows students to get hands-on experience with real science projects in the Smokies, including a chance to work directly with scientists from inside and outside the park,” North Carolina Director Holly Demuth said. “This gives them a valuable lesson that can’t be learned in the classroom.”