1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Building Blocks of STEM Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) The National Science Foundation has made the largest financial investment in STEM education of all Federal agencies, and plays a very powerful role in helping to set research and policy agendas. (2) Studies have found that children who engage in scientific activities from an early age develop positive attitudes toward science and are more likely to pursue STEM expertise and careers later on. (3) However, the majority of current research focuses on increasing STEM opportunities for students in middle school and older. (4) Women remain widely underrepresented in the STEM workforce and this gender disparity extends down through all levels of education. Strategic funding of programs is needed in order to understand and address the root cause of this gap. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Director The term Director means the Director of the National Science Foundation. (2) Early Childhood The term early childhood applies to children from birth through the age of 10. (3) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001(a) ). (4) Local educational agency The term local educational agency has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ), except that such term also includes preschools, after-school programs, and summer programs. (5) STEM The term STEM has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 ( 42 U.S.C. 6621 note). (6) Young girls The term young girls means female individuals who have not attained the age of 11. 4. Supporting STEM research on early childhood In awarding grants under the Discovery Research PreK–12 program, the Director shall consider age distribution in order to more equitably allocate funding for research studies with a focus on early